How I use a Blowdryer and Diffuser on my Wash and Go

During the winter months I tend to shy away from wearing the wash and go style.  This is because I don't want to walk around with wet hair while it's cold outside.  Recently I discovered that, if I carefully wrap my hair at night, I can rock the curly look without re-wetting my hair in the morning.  So as of late, I have been doing the style at night and then blowdrying my hair before going to bed.  That's where my diffuser comes in.

The point of using a diffuser is to dry your hair without causing frizz.  Mine is an attachment for my blowdryer that I picked up at Sally's Beauty Supply for about 10 bucks.  Unfortunately, the attachment broke recently after years of use which I'll be replacing soon.  Nowadays you can find a blowdryer that comes with its own diffuser attachment included.

How I use my Diffuser

Using a diffuser attachement to
blowdry without frizz

Stretching my hair for more hang time

After I finish applying my leave-ins and gel to set my style, I like to let my hair air dry for about an hour.  At this point my ends will start to harden which lets me know that I can manipulate my hair without ruining the style.

 I like to use the diffuser all over but mostly in back where it takes the longest to dry.  Then I'll remove the diffuser attachment and just point the blowdryer at my roots until completely dry.  Sometimes I'll hold the ends of my hair and stretch it while blowing warm air on the section.  This helps give me a little more length in areas that really shrink up.

Using my blowdryer in this way makes it possible for me to continue wearing my curls even when it's cold out.  I can usually keep the look going by just wrapping my hair with a large satin scarf at night.  In the morning I just shake my hair out and fluff.

In Review: Camille Rose Naturals Curl Love Moisture Milk

Camille Rose Naturals
Curl Love Moisture Milk

Earlier this year I celebrated 5 years on my natural hair journey and realized that I've pretty much stuck with the same products.  I am usually one of those gals who like to use affordable products that can be found locally in stores.  Once I figured out what worked for me, I stopped looking.  Still, I couldn't ignore all of the rave reviews that circulate in the natural hair world.  For this reason, I decided maybe I could tweak my routine here and there.  Who knows?  Maybe I'm missing out.

My Curls after using the Curl Love Moisture Milk
and Eco Styler gel

I was eyeing the Camille Rose products at my local Target store for some time and decided to try something from the line.  I needed a moisturizer for when I do my wash n' go so I grabbed the Curl Love Moisture Milk.  You get 8 ounces for about $15 dollars USD which seemed reasonable considering it contains all natural ingredients.  The product claims to,"nurture your tresses and aid in preventing breakage, shedding and styling damage."  The label also states that it,  "…will provide shine, protective anti-oxidants and long-lasting moisture to enhance the driest hair."  This sounded like something that would certainly provide my hair with the moisture it needed under a heavy styler like Eco Styler gel.  I love how gel makes my curls pop but I'm sometimes left with dry hair a few days later.

 I first tried it on wet hair after cleansing and conditioning.  Then I decided to use a little grapeseed oil to seal in the moisture.  Lastly, I sprayed each section of my hair with water before applying Eco gel.  I was very surprised to see how much my curls clumped together.  My hair also appeared to hang more than my usual wash n' go.  I let it airdry and realized that maybe adding the grapeseed oil was making my hair a bit too heavy.  The next trial I decided to skip the oil and use the Curl Love as my sealer because it contains Castor oil.  In this case I used Aussie Moist as my leave-in conditioner and then followed the same steps as before.  The result was okay but my curls weren't as juicy.  The combo that worked best was when I used a leave-in conditioner, grapeseed oil to seal then the Curl Love all before applying the gel.  This basically meant I was using the L.O.C. method (leave-in, oil, cream). 


Overall, I found that the product does what it claims by allowing my curls to hang more when I use it to do a wash n' go style.  It definitely feels moisturizing and leaves me with much softer hair after using the hair gel.  I did notice however that if I stuck with sulfate free products to cleanse my hair, the product would build up.  I am back to using a sulfate shampoo for when I need to clarify so this is no longer an issue
for me.

Moisturizes and gives my curls hang time!

I agree with the price point considering I am still on the same bottle a couple of months later.  I realized early on that you don't really need to use very much of the product in order to moisturize your hair.  I even use it on my kid's hair and feel like we've gotten a lot of use out of it.  I would definitely purchase this product again in the future.

HAVE YOU TRIED THE CAMILLE ROSE NATURALS LINE?

My Wash n' Go Routine

Long time no blog!  Hopefully I'll be getting back into the swing of things now that the kids are back in
school.  My hair routine is a little all over the place but lately I'm rockin' my wash n' go.  The weather here in Colorado may not be warm for much longer so I'm trying to take advantage of it.  Once fall hits, I'm thinking I might look into doing some crochet braids or twists under a beanie.

Anywhoo, here is my most recent youtube video which illustrates my current wash n' go routine.  Right now I am experimenting with different moisturizers and will have a review later.  In the meantime, you can watch how I apply my products to achieve this style.

Watch My Wash n' Go Routine

Changing My Hair Routine for the Winter Months

Making changes to my Wash n' Go routine
for the winter months

This is the time of year where we start to make changes in a lot of ways.  Sometimes the drier weather may call for heavier products for the hair and skin.  This has been the case for me lately as I have had to make adjustments to my hair routine to make up for the lack of moisture.  Normally I'm able to do my wash n' go style with just two products.  I like to use my favorite leave-in, Paul Mitchell's The Conditioner with Eco Styler gel (the Argan oil one).  Right around early October I could tell that my usual combo was not working like it did over the summer.  I decided to add a little Castor oil to seal in moisture before applying the gel.  This helped some, but still wasn't quite what my hair needed.

I started leaving conditioner in my hair that I would normally rinse out.   The Tresseme Naturals conditioners worked great for this but sometimes I used the Aussi Moist conditioner.  Both products were thick, rich and gave lots of slip.  The Aussi Moist even worked as a styler on it's own and gave me lots of curl definition.  The only thing though with using conditioner only was that I didn't get as much wear out of the style.  With Eco gel added I could go 4 to 5 days before having to re-do my hair.  With conditioner as my styler, I'm lookin' at two days tops.

I finally settled on applying a little of the Tresseme conditioner to my hair for a moisture boost.  Then I'll apply a little bit of the Paul Mitchell leave-in to each section I'm working on.  I seal in the moisture with a quarter size amount of castor oil for each section.  Finally, I re-wet my hair by spritzing water on the sections before applying the gel for hold.  It's taken me a few weeks to figure this new method out but it seems to be working a lot better for me.  The added moisture makes my hair shrink up more but that's a good thing so I welcome it.

From Wash n' Go to Braid Out

For Memorial Day I decided to wear a wash n' go because it's seemed to be the easy thing to do with my hair.  I had a few errands to run but still managed to fix myself up before heading out.  One of the things I tried was stretching my roots with the blowdryer for the look of more length.  My hair was still damp when I was done so it shrunk up a little.  Still, I was pretty happy with the end result.

Later that evening, I wanted to co-wash my hair and re-style the wash n' go which meant re-applying all of the products and waiting for it to dry.  Instead, I decided to just kick back and watch Youtube while braiding my hair up for a braid out.  I was surprised this morning to see the amount of definition I had.  I was also happy with the look of length I got without having to use any heat this time.

There was already plenty of product in my hair from the wash n' go so I just spritzed each section with a little water before braiding it into plaits.  I then spritzed a little more water on the ends and twisted with my fingers to get a slight curl.  The product in my hair helped with this step.  I didn't even have to use a comb or denman brush.  I just stretched my hair with my fingers and detangled a little here and there.  It was almost too easy!

WATCH MY WASH N' GO ROUTINE ON YOUTUBE

I'm beginning to see a routine forming here.  I can totally see myself wearing my wash n' go's for a few days and then turning them into braid outs when they start to get a little fuzzy.  I hope this is the case because I get the feeling my hair needs a more simplified routine and this may be it.  What's funny is the fact that this is what I used to do during my first year natural.  Now I'm not sure why I

ever stopped.

Wash n' Go on Memorial Day

Braid out the next day

My Sort-a Kind-a Curly Girl Method

Earlier this summer I mentioned in one of my YouTube videos that I was not a fan of the Curly Girl method (CG) because it seemed to do a number on my scalp.  I have issues with dry scalp off and on throughout the year.  This year it seemed to really flare up when I started this method because of the constant conditioner only washing.  Well, I'm still dealing with it now but have gone back to wearing my hair curly everyday.

Curls Up-close

I'm not following the CG method exactly but I just don't see the point in wearing stretched styles when I know my scalp needs to be cleansed more often.  However, I did learn a few things from Lorraine Massey's book, Curly Girl, the Handbook



There is one step that I learned from the book which helps immensely with my new daily washing/co-washing routine.  It's called a, "pre-cleanse".  With this step you just apply conditioner or sulfate free shampoo prior to getting in the shower to wash your hair (book version).  I altered this method a little because I prefer to apply loads of cheapie conditioner like Suave's Naturals Coconut (my staple) instead of the amount suggested.  I do this in sections and it really helps me to pull out shed hairs and tangles.  It also elongates my hair which is usually shrunken up into a tight curly fro from the day before.

I'm still using sulfate shampoo and my favorite leave-in conditioner (Paul Mitchell's The Conditioner) which has silicones in the ingredients list.  For this reason I can't say that I'm abiding by the "rules" outlined in the book.  Sulfates and Silicones are big no-no's with this method but I make sure to use Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) rinses to help resolve any issues there.  Not only does the ACV help remove build-up but it also helps my hair to return back to a normal pH after using the shampoo.  This is important because this leaves my hair more manageable by closing the cuticle layer back down.  It also helps with moisture retention.  I love ACV rinses!

My hair is definitely benefitting from all of the moisture it has been getting.  I have been rockin' wash n' gos for six weeks straight and can't really see myself quitting anytime soon.  I usually do my hair at night so I'm not too worried about having wet hair in the mornings when I head out.  Hopefully I will begin to see tons of growth and length retention in the upcoming months.

Read How I do my Wintertime Wash n' Go

Tips on How to Define Type 4 Curls

My hair wet with product

Sometimes I feel like I should be crowned the Wash n' Go queen by now after all of the products and techniques I've experimented with to achieve the curly look.  Washing my hair and just heading out the door is never the case.  I have curls but they are "type 4" curls.  Yes, I'm talking about the hair typing system.  It's not my favorite way to categorize my hair but hopefully it will give others a way to gage whether my techinques will work for them.

My curls are tight corkscrew coils, lazy "s" shapes and everything in between.  I even have a section that laughs at the idea of curl definition.  Oh and let's not forget about the shrinkage.  I would say mine can be up to 75% but it depends on the day.

In order to get my curls to pop, there are certain things that I must do in order to get the definition I want.  Just so you know, I'm usually looking for hair that will last me a few days without feeling drastically dry and brittle.  I'm still looking for a softer hold solution but at least I've got the curl definition part down.

Here are some things that I have learned when styling my own hair

My hair freshly washed and detangled
using a denman brush.
Dry with no product

1.  Start with clean hair

For some this may mean co-washing; for others, shampoo.  I've noticed that I really do get the best results after cleansing my hair.  Otherwise, I end up with so-so results.

2.  Detangle, detangle, detangle

There are times where I skip this step and I always pay for it.  Not only does this cut help to cut down on the time it takes to apply the products but the hair is also way easier to work with.  Whether you're shingling, raking or combing product through remember to start with detangled hair.

3.  Make sure hair is soaking wet

When my hair begins to dry, all of those pretty little curls go poof!  Any curl defining product out there is really just a way to lock your curls into place.  My hair is at it's curliest when it's dripping wet so I start with that.  When sections begin to dry, I make sure to keep a spray bottle handy so I can wake those curls back up.

4.  Work in small sections

We've all seen the videos where someone takes a quarter size amount of product and applies it to all of their waist length hair and voila; curl definition.  Not for our hair texture!  It's best to keep the sections as small as possible so that each and every little curl can get enough product from root to tip.  Sometimes, big hair is desirable but if you want every curl accounted for, using smaller sections is the way to go.

I get lots of curl definition using product
on wet hair

5.  Smooth those ends

After I have completely raked the product through a section, I always go over my ends, using my fingers, to smooth them out.  This will ensure that the curl lays flatter and discourages those stubborn single strand knots.

6.  Once the products are all in, LEAVE IT ALONE!

This is a biggie.  I've done it myself more times than I can count.  Still, you've got to leave your wet hair be until you've got that, dried "cast" that tells you it's okay to touch your curls.  Even if you choose to diffuse, remember not to handle your hair with your fingers because this will cause lots of unwanted frizz.  Simply tilt your head and let your curls drop into the diffuser so that it can do its' thing.

 I hope these tips will help someone out there.  I sure wish I would have known all of this long ago when I first went natural.  Still, I'm pretty happy with my coily creations and that's all that matters.

DIY Eco Styler Gel Custard Recipe

After many months of searching for an alternative to Eco Styler Gel, I finally resigned to the fact that it's the only gel that gives the hold and definition my curls crave.  Still, I always got the dreaded dry, crunchy feeling everytime I used it.  I usually apply a leave-in to my wet hair and seal the moisture in with an oil underneath the gel.  No matter what, I kept getting the same result.  After reading through the book, Curly Girl, by Lorraine Massey, I found out that the crunch or "cast" the gel leaves behind is actually a good thing.  This is when you know your curls have been set into place.  I found this to be true because after air drying, I'm usually able to fluff and style my hair without worrying about losing my curl definition.  The book suggests that you scrunch the hair to remove the crunch but I sometimes kept getting a dry feeling after this step.

I figured out that the combination of an oil and a mositurizer underneath the gel gave me much softer hair.  This however led to applying lots of products one by one.  By the time I reached the front sections of my hair it was dry and not as manageable.  I wanted a way to apply the products quicker so I decided to just whip them all together and came up with a nice custard consistency.  I'm realizing that this is a much easier way to apply my products and my curls love it!  

Here's the recipe I came up with



Eco Styler Gel Custard

6 oz. Argan Oil Eco Styler Gel (or fill a 12 oz container half way)

2 Tblsp. Hollywood Beauty Olive Creme Hairdress for Dry Hair*

1 Tblsp. Castor/Coconut Oil Mix**


Place ingredients in a small container.  Whip together until all ingredients are combined.   The mixture will have a pudding like consistency. 

*You can substitute another moisturizer; one that pairs well with Eco Gel

**I use a 50/50 Castor/Coconut oil mix to seal my hair.  For this recipe I just used 1 Tblsp of my pre-mixed oil.

The Application

After cleansing and conditioning, I apply my leave-in conditioner (currently Paul Mitchell's The Conditioner) to my hair while it's still wet.  Next I section my hair into four sections to keep my hair up while I'm styling.  Within each section I make small parts and apply my Eco Gel Custard.  I use a smoothing and raking motion to help give the curls definition.  I've also started sealing the hair with oil after applying the gel custard for an even softer hold but this is optional.  Then, I let it airdry for about an hour or so before I use a blow dryer on the roots.  You can also plop the hair with a T-Shirt to help with the drying time or just continue to air dry.

Final Thoughts

I'm finding that the mixture also works on my edges when I wear my hair up.  I haven't done a braid-out or twist-out with it yet but it looks like it may give good results.   I'm going to continue to play with the recipe but this version seems to work well on my hair which is a 4a/4b texture.  I've also started using it on my son's curly 3b/3c/4a hair and it is also responding well.  The only thing I noticed is that I'm getting a lot more shrinkage because my curls just love the moisture.  To get more hang time I usually just stretch it by pulling it back at night.