Transitioning Question

swissmiss

So I have 3b hair, and I've decided to transition from my normal routine to CG. I got the Jessicurl travel pack to use, figured I could try out a whole line for less money, and I'm traveling around a lot over the next month so it'd be convenient.

I've read Laura Lee's guide to going CG. I thought I was ready but then I read the part about using 2 conditioners. She recommends cowashing with a light silicone free conditioner and then using a thicker conditioner (ie garnier triple nutrition).

The travel pack came with the "too shea! extra moisturizing conditioner." Can I use this as a cowash or would it be the thicker conditioner? Any other tips anyone can give me? Thanks!

wavynwild16

I'm new to CG, too, but from skimming over lots of threads and posts, I'd say that the conditioner you got would be way too heavy to CO-wash with. You'd be better off using the Too Shea as your rinse out (abbreviated "RO") conditioner, or you'll run into greasy scalp and limp, weighed-down hair problems. Something cheap and not too heavy would be good to CO-wash with, like VO5 or Suave. You might know this already (I figured I'd tell you, though, because it's pretty important), but you shouldn't use any products that contain silicones in them. They end in -cone, -conol, or -xane.

Anyway, good luck with your CG transformation! Report back and tell us how it's going!

swissmiss

That was my guess, but I wanted to check and make sure. Glad I didn't try transition yet though. I read through a bunch of posts and saw a few mentions to shampoos now having silicone in them.

Look at my shampoo (that I was going to do my final wash with) and what do you know, it has silicone. Any recommendations for a final wash product?

I saw a few mentions to burt's bee's shampoos, but those don't seem to have sulfates in them. I need a sulfate shampoo for the final wash right? Thanks!

wavynwild16

Unless the products you used before going CG were completely 'cone-free, then it's not necessary to do a sulfate wash. It's basic purpose is to remove leftover 'cones or impurities from your hair -- like starting on a clean slate (literally!) But, if your products did contain silicones, I would strongly recommend a final wash. I did a search to see if there are any alternatives (because I wasn't quite sure), and it turns out that there are a few! You could rinse your hair with baking soda (BS) and follow with an apple cider vinegar rinse (ACV rinse) in place of your sulfate wash. (You can use any old vinegar if you don't specifically have apple cider vinegar.) I've heard that you MUST do a vinegar rinse following the baking soda. It raises the hair cuticle because it's alkaline (and it's an open invitation for frizzies!), and the ACV seals your cuticles right back down. Hope that helps, and good luck!

swissmiss

Thanks wavynwild16 for going through that trouble! I ended up just doing a target run (since I had to pick up something for cowash also). Took a while sitting and reading ingredients. ended up going with a suave naturals shampoo and conditioners. They didn't have the coconut that everyone wants in conditioner so I got the pomegranate. The shampoo was only about a dollar, and my boyfriend uses the brand so I'll just leave it with him.

It was amazing how many shampoos have silicone in them. I tried to find little travel sizes but all of them had it :P Currently on day 3 of the transition. It's going okay, but my hair has been a little frizzy. I normally brush it out after everything, but have been trying to resist. I also just chopped off most of my hair so I'm getting used to that as well.

Thanks again!

aliquot

I couldn't for the life of me find the coconut either...I got the pomegranate as well.

Did you try the JessiCurl pack? I had the light one and I wasn't impressed. I didn't feel like the conditioners did anything for me. Not even the Too Shea! one. Oh well.

wavynwild16

swissmiss wrote: »

Thanks wavynwild16 for going through that trouble! I ended up just doing a target run (since I had to pick up something for cowash also). Took a while sitting and reading ingredients. ended up going with a suave naturals shampoo and conditioners. They didn't have the coconut that everyone wants in conditioner so I got the pomegranate. The shampoo was only about a dollar, and my boyfriend uses the brand so I'll just leave it with him.

It was amazing how many shampoos have silicone in them. I tried to find little travel sizes but all of them had it :P Currently on day 3 of the transition. It's going okay, but my hair has been a little frizzy. I normally brush it out after everything, but have been trying to resist. I also just chopped off most of my hair so I'm getting used to that as well.

Thanks again!

You're welcome! Glad everything worked out for you. Well -- except for the coconut condish! Everybody is crazy for that conditioner. I don't think I've ever smelt it, but who doesn't love the coconut scent, right? :laughing8:

It IS amazing how many shampoos have silicones in them. I didn't realize it, but the one I did my final wash with had 'cones in it. I'm going to either do a BS/ACV rinse to start all over again with or mix a tiny bit of my sulfate shampoo and my CO-wash condish together and wash my hair that way from here on out. My hair has been very greasy with the whole CG thing. :tongue6: And grease is one of my biggest pet-peeves!

Yup, most hair gets frizzier for a little while during the transition period of CG because you're not masking it with all of those nasty 'cones. That's totally normal, so don't sweat it!

Keep staying AWAY from that brush! Ask someone to hide it for you, if you need to...just don't brush your beautiful curls! If you ever feel tempted to use that brush, remind yourself that it'll just get really poofy and frizzy, and who wants that? :blob8:

swissmiss

aliquot wrote: »

I couldn't for the life of me find the coconut either...I got the pomegranate as well.

Did you try the JessiCurl pack? I had the light one and I wasn't impressed. I didn't feel like the conditioners did anything for me. Not even the Too Shea! one. Oh well.

I'm using the rich travel pack. I like it. It's been working so far, but it hasn't been a full week yet and I'm still getting used to the whole new routine. If I would start again I would maybe do it a little simpler since I can't really differentiate between the effects of each item on its own. but no complaints yet