losing my curls

tstawitz

I have been CG for 6 weeks now and I thought it was suppose to get better, but my hair seems to just get worse. For the first two weeks I was still figuring stuff out and I has some trouble with weird feeling hair, but I got over that and now my hair is much more moisturized, but now I can't get curls anymore. I was a 3a in the front and a 2c in the back and sides. Lately I am lucky if i am able to get a 2b in the front and a 2a in the back. I am starting to put my hair up everyday, and I have even considered straightening it.
I use yes to carrots conditioner and another organic one which is also cone free.
Here are the ingredients;
De-ionized water, aloe barbadensis (aloe vera) leaf gel*, glyceryl stearate, vegetable glycerine, cetearyl alcohol, jojoba oil, glucose/glucose oxidase/lactoperoxidase (natural) preservative), virgin coconut oil*, behentrimonium chloride, phenoxyethanol, natural rosewood-green tea essence, hydroxyethyl cellulose, herbal extract blend (extract of licorice, calendula, nettle, horsetail (scouring rush), chamomile, lavender and sage), hydrolyzed wheat protein, vitamin E (as mixed tocopherol), d-panthenol, horsetail extract, unmodified soy lecithin, l-cystine, sea kelp extract, citric acid, geranium extract, l-arginine, vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopheryl acetate), green tea extract, vitamin D2 (as ergocalciferol), biotin, niacin (as niacinamide), vitamin A (as retinyl palmitate) and vitamin C (as sodium ascorbyl phosphate).

I then use BWC leave-in, with vegetable glycerin and then use I either use a mixture of African gold curl activator and dippity do sports gel or just the gel. scrunch then plop. I have also used the super soaker method and it gave me great clumps, but still no definition. Just really frustrated since I have worked so hard and it seems like nothing is helping.
I got a low-poo in hopes that would help, but I haven't seen any improvements. I also do deep treatments, baking soda and acv cleanses and I have done protein treatments.

Any help would be amazing!!!

kathymack

Texture and porosity are more important for determining what ingredients/products your hair might like. Here's a link to help you determine yours. Once you know your texture and porosity, you can look for folks with hair like yours to see what they use (in signatures.)

It's possible that your hair needs protein.

tstawitz

Sorry I totally forgot to mention last night that I have fine hair, with low porosity and haven't quite figured out my elasticity, but I believe it is low

kathymack

My hair is fine, low porosity and probably low elasticity, too. I'm a product slut and used ALL of the CG products that were mentioned in just about any thread when I first joined. I discovered that my hair likes the more natural products from the online, boutique companies.

tstawitz

Mine seems to like natural products too.
I did a couple protein treatments, but I think one didn't take, so I did another one last night and afterwards my hair felt baby soft, but it still wont form a curl. I don't know if I am doing something wrong, but it appears the longer I am CG the less my hair curls. It feels better and appears healthier, but it curls less.
I don't even use a lot of product. I condition, then I use leave-in, sometimes oil, then gel or gel with curl activator.
I am just getting really confused, when I first started CG it got curly and now it is wavy and blah. Not saying wavy hair is blah, but that my hair looks blah.

Rustina

I looked up the African Gold curl activator because I'm not familiar with it, and found these ingredients; looks like there's a 'cone in it:

Water, Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Gel (Aloe Vera), Propylene Glycol, Dimethicone Copolyol, Triethanolamine, Carbomer, Oleth-20, Hydroxycellulose, DMDM Hydantoin, Disodium EDTA, Phosphoric Acid, Fragrance.

I don't know about the copolyol at the end, but if this is a non-water soluble silicone, this product is building up in your hair and probably causing some of your curl problem. Do a sulfate wash to get it out and then stop using it; that may help.

Also, here is the thread that Kathymack probably meant to link to: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/general-discussion-about-curly-hair/67218-texture-porosity-other-hair-type-madness.html

Knowing your properties will help you to choose product ingredients that will work with your hair - protein, moisture, or a combination of both. Just because a product is CG-friendly doesn't mean it will work with your particular hair type.

Good luck!

tstawitz

My containers says PEG- before the cone, so I figured it was safe, but maybe I will just stop using it all together.

Rustina

Hmm, that changes things. The peg modification should make that cone okay. Definitely check out the texture/porosity thread - that might help a lot.


Sent from my iPhone using the CurlTalk app!

tstawitz

I have fine hair and low porosity, so I am having a hard time making my hair except any product. It takes forever getting anything into the strands.

kathymack

tstawitz wrote: »

I have fine hair and low porosity, so I am having a hard time making my hair except any product. It takes forever getting anything into the strands.

Low porosity hair takes longer to absorb product. You have to be careful in the amount of product you use. I generally use rich products in minute amounts. I wet, rinse out and style every day. My hair seems to get better as the day goes on (and it absorbs the products.)

My hair has similar properties and I've found DOZENS of products that I really like, I'm sure you'll be able to find products, too. Just don't give up. As I said in my previous post, look for people with similar properties and see what they use.