Super Soaker, no plopping, no scrunching

Erin14040

I was told recently that scrunching is breaking up my fine hair clumps, even when I do it with a T-shirt.
She told me to stop using my fingers and start pressing FIRMLY w/ the palm of my hand (while holding T-shirt or "towel")

I've been playing around with it and the ice queen method and the super soaker and the plopping and I've finally got something that's working. I'm still struggling with my crown, but it's getting there.
Just thought I'd share and see if anybody else has had luck with something similar or wants to try.

In the shower, I co wash, do my rinse out upside down and rinse it upside down. This upside down thing is probably not even doing anything because afterwards, I put in leave in/curl cream, comb it through (still in the shower) and then fix my part. Next, I super soak ALL of it-still standing in shower, add my KCCC and using my T-shirt or hair towel, I just press the excess water out. I lean to the side, puddle the hair in the palm of my hand that is holding the shirt and press up to my scalp the way I would if I were scrunching with fingers. I do it all over and then gently do it upside down with the crown. It's giving me the BEST clumps I've gotten with any method. My fingers truly WERE breaking up all of my clumps-EVEN when they were protceted by the towel!! I tried plopping after, but it pulled out the clumps, curls. It works best for me if I just keep pressing and pressing FIRMLY until the water is pressed out and the towel has soaked it up. I think I might get a microfiber towel and try it. I bet that would make it faster!
I hope that makes sense! It's SO exciting to find something that "clicks."

Erin14040

PS: I'm getting WAY better curls and definition too. Even the back that is more of a loose wave is curling better w/ this method.

Lucky Charm

woohoo! Glad you found what works for you! I'm going to try towel 'scrunching' as you described, I can see the benefit to it!

Erin14040

Awesome! Hope it works as well for you!

IAgirl

I did that when my hair was longer and got much better clumps of curls and rounder curls rather than flatter waves or twisty wurls.
I'm inspired to try the "pressing with palm" rather than scrunching with fists again and see how it goes now that I have shorter hair and layers.
Thanks!

wavynwild16

You've inspired me, too! The method sounds a lot like plopping without actually putting the t-shirt on your head. And I LOVE plopping -- I'll definitely give it a go and let you know what happens (I wonder if it will work as well for coarse hair?)! Glad you found something that is working for you!

IAgirl

I tried this, although I did not supersoak or use anything more than aloe vera gel because I was going to put my hair up today anyhow.

I got good clumps (for a low-holding product) and some great canopy spirals! (I thought my canopy was super-blah, but it's getting better now after 5 months).
All I did was spray water on my hair, apply the AVG (I squeezed-patted it in) and pushed my hair towards my scalp with a mostly flat hand.

I clipped and did some diffusing and some air-drying.

This is great, I can't believe I stopped using the "flat hand anti-scrunch" method. Or the plop-less plop. I love it because plopping gives me a flat top and terrible hair. Mine is too fine for plopping!

Thanks Erin14040, you're a peach!

Robin-in-FL

Does it not take a very long time to dry if you don't scrunch/squeeze out a lot of the water? One of the main reasons I squeeze & scrunch with cloth is to get water out.

IAgirl

Robin-in-FL wrote: »

Does it not take a very long time to dry if you don't scrunch/squeeze out a lot of the water? One of the main reasons I squeeze & scrunch with cloth is to get water out.

My reply to this is: I have way less hair than you Robin! Mine usually dries within an hour and a half if air-dried.
I use the diffuser (sometimes) to get my hair "tacky dry" without having to use a towel to squeeze out the water. Sometimes more dry, sometimes less.

If I've used a water-y and juicy styling product (FSG, for example, or AVG) then I figure the styler will come off just like water would and be wasted -- although they're cheap so I can always add more. If I've used something more sticky, like a gel, I might use a towel because it's more clingy.

Also, I wash my hair at night and style it in the morning -- and spritzing it with water doesn't soak it as much as showering does, so it's already "less wet," otherwise I'd be squeezing the water out to avoid a drippy. limp mess.

wavynwild16

I tried your method today after I washed my hair, Erin! I have to say, nothing can beat a good plop. My hair is super soft and pretty-looking, but it's barely wavy. This took no time to style and dry as opposed to the normal 6-8 hours drying time (so JEALOUS of you IAgirl! 1 1/2 hours?!?!), but it just didn't enhance my waves. I need that plop! Glad it worked for you, though! Maybe it works better for you fine haired ladies.

IAgirl

If you're jealous of 1.5 hours-to-dry-hair, you might not be so jealous of hair that barely hides the ears (at longer than shoulder-length) and has little volume and not a heck of a lot of substance. I'd trade longer drying time for about 5000 more hairs or so.
Fine hair and thicker hair are (revealing my occasional hat and mitten knitting forays) like the difference between cashmere and standard wool. I'm sure somebody can make a better comparison. Fine and downy versus substantial and resilient.
I can't plop because it smashes my hair all flat and bendy.

I think we tend to label our 2a,b,c based on the looks in the pictures and it really does us a disservice because 2a hair can be super-wavy, but it's fine and baby-soft and 2c hairs are thicker and more substantial and behave totally differently! It's not the wave, it's the thickness of the hairs! I have some of 2 a,b, and a dozen or so c so I know them all. My husband has everything from 2c to 3c. 2c hair is way different from 2a! My hair never holds shape overnight, but my husbands will. That goober!

Not to hijack Erin's thread! But the thickness and silkiness of those fibers really makes a difference.

cytaormina

Coming out of lurkdom here:iconbiggrin: Thank you Erin for posting this. It never dawned on me that plopping is what gives me that dreaded flat crown. I too have been doing the pressing up with a flat palm and then I would plop for about five minutes but the crown was always a disappointment. I will give your method a try and see what it does for my 2b hair.

wavynwild16

IAgirl wrote: »

If you're jealous of 1.5 hours-to-dry-hair, you might not be so jealous of hair that barely hides the ears (at longer than shoulder-length) and has little volume and not a heck of a lot of substance. I'd trade longer drying time for about 5000 more hairs or so.
Fine hair and thicker hair are (revealing my occasional hat and mitten knitting forays) like the difference between cashmere and standard wool. I'm sure somebody can make a better comparison. Fine and downy versus substantial and resilient.
I can't plop because it smashes my hair all flat and bendy.

I think we tend to label our 2a,b,c based on the looks in the pictures and it really does us a disservice because 2a hair can be super-wavy, but it's fine and baby-soft and 2c hairs are thicker and more substantial and behave totally differently! It's not the wave, it's the thickness of the hairs! I have some of 2 a,b, and a dozen or so c so I know them all. My husband has everything from 2c to 3c. 2c hair is way different from 2a! My hair never holds shape overnight, but my husbands will. That goober!

Not to hijack Erin's thread! But the thickness and silkiness of those fibers really makes a difference.

Ha ha! I don't know if I'd be willing to give up 5,000 hairs for a shorter drying time, but I am pretty desperate to have hair that will dry quickly! It's mostly because my hair's so thick -- the underneath layer stays damp for an eternity!

Yes, in the beginning I always thought that 2c hair was the curliest of the wavies, but now I know that that's not at all true. I guess that's why they have the FIA's typing system and the regular curl typing system.

chicklegirl

Add my thanks to the growing list, Erin! Plopping just wasn't doing it for me, and the palm press method (I use an old T-shirt) has been keeping my clumps better than traditional scrunching--and totally prevents frizz, too. :thumright:

Erin14040

FANTASTIC! Nice to be able to bring something to the table here, even if it's just a reminder of something you guys forgot for a little while. I take SO MUCH from this site and feel a little useless when people ask questions! LOL!!! That won't stop me from asking MORE questions though. Tee hee.

NOW, if I could only get 2nd day hair, I'd be plum tickled!

gecko

Erin - How do you get dressed without messing up your beautifully set wet hair? Do you have any "crown tricks" to share with this method?

Erin14040

I usually don't get dressed until it's mostly dry. LOL. If I HAVE to get dressed when it's still fairly wet, I just wear something I can pull on. A tank I can step into and a cardigan or a button up or a wrap. SO funny that we have to think about stuff like that.

As far as the crown goes, getting rid of the plop helped my crown SO MUCH. When I'm pushing it up with my palms, I lean over to the side so that it pushes all the way up to the roots. After it's dry and still crunchy, I turn my head upside down and give it a couple of good hard shakes. Then, when I'm standing up, I squeeze the crunch out of the ends just gripping it in my clinched palm, but not letting my fingers touch it and break up the clumps.
Hope that helps!

gecko

Thanks for the clarification. Funny that you know exactly what I mean by "how do you get dressed!"

CurlyLinZee

Funny you should post this. I just had a haircut today with a new stylist and she told me to use the flat-hand pressing method too, instead of scrunching.

I LOVE my haircut, she worked miracles. But I'm not sure I love the way she styled it. It came out in looser waves at the top than I like, but the back came out gorgeous. She actually wet-set me with a very loose twisting, just at the roots then did not scrunch at all. She then diffused me upside down until about 60% dry, then let it air dry. It came out sort of rock-n-roll cool--vastly different than my usually tighter waves/curls in the front.

The haircut is awesome. I can't wait to style it myself now tomorrow. It's like having all new hair to play with.

Erin14040

Gecko, only a fellow curly would understand why we can't get dressed before it sets enough. Hee hee!

LinZee, you MUST post pics! That sounds SO INTERESTING and funky! Tell me more about the wet set twist! I have NO CLUE what that means. LOL. Sounds like something I might like to try, though!

DreeemingTreee

the palm thing really does work! I don't even bother with plopping...I get much better results with this style of "scrunching" products in, and water out.
I see you use KCCC, do you use KCKT first? KCCC works great, but using it with the KT really makes a difference! I have actually found that if I super soak, then palm scrunch with a microfiber towel (to get drips out) then I palm scrunch with Curls Like Us cloths (basically like a heavy tshirt...works the same as an old T, but better) then I add my KCKT (about a marble size emulsified then scrunched into hair) then the KCCC. At no point do I scrunch with my fingers. After my hair has dried a bit (think starting to get crunch but still quite damp) I scrunch in a harder hold gel (I wet my hands, then emulsify a pea size of BRHG. that way the gel doesnt just stick to your hands and distributes much easier).
I have def found that apply product to hair that is not dripping wet works so much better on my wavy hair. --I get spirals, and people ask me "do you wake up early every morning to curl your hair like that?!"...nope. I sure dont. I love that my hair takes so much less time than when I used to blow dry and flat iron my hair every day!

Erin14040

THANKS, Dreeeming!
I DO use KCKT. I haven't quite mastered how much to use yet (of ANYTHING-LOL) It's hit and miss. With this method, that doesn't make a HUGE difference, but KNOWING would really help the process.

I was actually going out today to get a microfiber towel. LOL. My T-shirt is way too soaked by the time I'm done pressing the water out.

I'm going to try your way tomorrow and put ALL product on after pressing the water out. I tried it that way at first, but I felt like it broke up the clumps too much. :-/ Maybe w/ these specific amounts, it will be better! I had been thinking that maybe some of the product helped it clump better if I put it on before the super soak.

CurlyLinZee

Erin14040 wrote: »

LinZee, you MUST post pics! That sounds SO INTERESTING and funky! Tell me more about the wet set twist! I have NO CLUE what that means. LOL. Sounds like something I might like to try, though!

Basically, she just grabbed each clump near the root and give it a very gentle twist. If you've seen the twist and skip method (search it; it's on here), it's a similar idea...only she did not twist the clump tightly at all and she didn't "skip" them. Just a little twist near the root and let it fall. THEN, she did the flat-hand press method versus scrunching while diffusing.

I haven't done the twist part myself yet since the cut, but I did adopt the pressing versus scrunching, just as you have. I'm getting awesome clumps! Who knew I was ruining my clumps with all of that scrunching action?

(I might try the twist-action today, just for fun. See how it works out for me.)

pedaheh

Skip curl method video
YouTube - Curly Care: Styling Curly Hair Wet

Erin14040

OOOHHHH! OK! Yes. I've seen that. I was picturing "twisting at the root" to mean something totally different. LOL. I was picturing a tight twist close to the scalp like the sides of Dorothy's hair in Wizard of Oz when she has those pig tails and the side pieces are twisted into it.
Yeah. Not the same. Ha.
I tried that before, but I didn't add extra gel. I may need to revisit it. It didn't work that well for me the first time because my hair is not as elastic as I thought it was originally. When I tried it the first time, it pulled more curl out than it added. Hmph.

Thanks for the direction! I was going the WRONG WAY.

pedaheh

I had zero luck with skip curling myself. By the time I finished the second side of my head, the first side was already nearly unraveled and drying. Not cute. Hope it works for the rest of you.

Robin-in-FL

pedaheh wrote: »

I had zero luck with skip curling myself. By the time I finished the second side of my head, the first side was already nearly unraveled and drying. Not cute. Hope it works for the rest of you.

Not for me, either. I think it must work better for those with "pipe cleaner" type hair, that sets easily. Mine is more like a slinky, any attempt to get it to do something other than what it does just makes it straighter and frizzier.

I Do, however, smooth clumps of hair together sometimes as I'm putting in curl cream, just smooth them to encourage them to hang together. Hair is Very Wet at this point. Definitely no twisting. Then scrunch in the gel.

mamaherrera

I am wondering if the scrunching is what is making me get crimped hairs stick out around my waves/curls. Like they don't clump at all and they don't curl, they just fray outwards, and then I have a lot of frizz around my curls, curling with them, but not clumping. Maybe teh scrunch isn't doing anything. I still don't know what it is. But do you know which other methopd will still give me volume??

rheostaticsfan

I"m not sure I understand this method. You're pressing your hair from the tip up to the root and against your scalp using your flat hand (covered in a fabric)?

I may try that. I worry about that putting too much conditioner up at my scalp again. If I don't rince my scalp area thoroughly I get something that looks greasy and feels waxy.

Hmm...

ailin85

Hi! It would be great if you can do a youtube tutorial on this

I am going to try this tonight. So, while your hair is soaking wet how do you add your KCCC combing it through or simply applying it? I am trying to understand it to try it tonight as I have very long hair and feel like it will not break up into clumps but rather a bird's nest mess while in the process....:angry3:

Please let me know! :thumbright:

Erin14040 wrote: »

I was told recently that scrunching is breaking up my fine hair clumps, even when I do it with a T-shirt.
She told me to stop using my fingers and start pressing FIRMLY w/ the palm of my hand (while holding T-shirt or "towel")

I've been playing around with it and the ice queen method and the super soaker and the plopping and I've finally got something that's working. I'm still struggling with my crown, but it's getting there.
Just thought I'd share and see if anybody else has had luck with something similar or wants to try.

In the shower, I co wash, do my rinse out upside down and rinse it upside down. This upside down thing is probably not even doing anything because afterwards, I put in leave in/curl cream, comb it through (still in the shower) and then fix my part. Next, I super soak ALL of it-still standing in shower, add my KCCC and using my T-shirt or hair towel, I just press the excess water out. I lean to the side, puddle the hair in the palm of my hand that is holding the shirt and press up to my scalp the way I would if I were scrunching with fingers. I do it all over and then gently do it upside down with the crown. It's giving me the BEST clumps I've gotten with any method. My fingers truly WERE breaking up all of my clumps-EVEN when they were protceted by the towel!! I tried plopping after, but it pulled out the clumps, curls. It works best for me if I just keep pressing and pressing FIRMLY until the water is pressed out and the towel has soaked it up. I think I might get a microfiber towel and try it. I bet that would make it faster!
I hope that makes sense! It's SO exciting to find something that "clicks."