My 3a/3b hair won't curl like before

irenejazz

Hello everybody,

I used to have very tight curls. Very defined and shiny.
I never had to do too much for it. Never really went crazy with products and stuff.
Almost four years ago I moved to the United States from Italy.
During this time my hair has changed a lot and I guess it's because of the water.
In any case, at this point I'm lost.
My curl is more loose, it would not curl from the top, and the back...is basically straight!
I don't know what to do.
I never straighten my hair...like, ever!!
I did the aphogee 2 step protein treatment and nothing changed. Tried with oils, but nothing. Cut it, and still nothing.

I beg you, help me!!!!

HtBlack

Which products did you use in Italy and which now? I live in Italy so I'm sure I can look up the ingredients and see if there are major differences with what you use now. Have you considered a water filter, and clarifying a few times with a strong surfactant? Chelating also would be a good idea.

Hard water can cause a pretty stubborn buildup...

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irenejazz

Hi!

I never used anything fancy. Usually Pantene Mousse for curly hair and nothing else.
I've been cutting off shampoo for years now (probably 6) , and that hasn't changed either.

HtBlack

If you have hard water and you're not using shampoos then there's your problem! Seriously, no no no. Hard water can cause a lot of buildup and pantene isn't really known for its no-poo friendly formulas!

You need to shampoo that awfulness out, then re-moisturize your hair. One shampoo won't be enough, you need to do it a few times. I suggest a chelating one also, that hss EDTA or some other chelating agent to help remove the buildup. And let us know how it goes!!

Even if you didn't have hard water, never using shampoo isn't a good idea if you use products that contain ingredients that buildup over time like silicones, polyquats, waxes and so on. Using oils will make it worse, possibly, and I doubt the protein could even get through the product coat so yeah... clarify?

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irenejazz

Thank you HtBlack!
What shampoo would you recommend?

HtBlack

I don't live in the states so I don't know specific products, however, swimmers' shampoos have chelating agents. What I can recommend is to choose a shampoo with sulfates, but without silicones, polyquats, and conditioning things like oils and butters or waxes. Your shampoo needs to cleanse your hair, you'll moisturize it back up again after you've removed the buildup. (: which is why you should have at hand something nice and deep treating for when you need it, and also read about the gelatin protein treatment so if your hair needs some structure again you can do that too!

You should let us know if shampoo helps your curls at all. (:

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irenejazz

Oh wow, ok. So it does need to contain sulfates, but not silicones.

American people, can you recommend anything like this?

HtBlack

You could also put some keywords in the search bar on top of the curltalk forum and see if any suggestions come up, or look at signatures of other people if no one comments. (:

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