What could I do to improve my routine?

zwavy

Hi, NaturallyCurly. I'm Zoe, and I have type 2a-2b hair. I started a routine a couple of months ago and I am seeing great results on second and third day hair, but right after I wash it (using the same routine as always) I am not getting as good of results (I might add the results aren't necessarily where I want them yet, but I am still growing out heat damage).

This is my routine at night: I usually scrub my scalp with the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo, wash it out upside down, shake out my hair/scrunch a bit, then apply conditioner. I use Suave Naturals in Tropical Coconut, leave it in while I shave or whatever, then rinse it out upside down again. I then shake out my hair in the shower and scrunch it with a t-shirt before I wash my body, then when I get out of the shower I scrunch it a bit more with a t-shirt and scrunch in the Organix Moroccan Curl Defining Cream. I then wait for it to dry when I go to bed, but the cast still doesn't dry as much as my second and third-day hair routines. When I wake up my hair is a mess.

Second-day/Third-day: I wake up, spritz my hair with water until it is damp, and then scrunch in the same Organix Curl Defining Cream. The results are much better using this routine. Sometimes I condition my hair on the second-day at night if my hair is feeling dry.

Please give me suggestions on what I can do to improve this! Thank you!! :-)

eveum

In what way is your hair a mess? Is is poofy/fluffy, limp, frizzy/dry etc?

I remember when I used an Organix shampoo and conditioner set once and my hair was so fluffy and flyaway the next day. My boyfriend then tried it and it did the same to his fine straight hair. Their products are very silicone heavy from what I recall. Which is not necessarily bad but some peoples hair react badly to it.

Also id you give us more details about the features of your hair we may be able to help you better. The length, the thickness of each strand etc.

Do you use a gel at all? Or anything to hold your waves in place like mousse?

frckls

It would be really helpful if you know your hair properties and if you can define what kind of messy.

I, too, get better 2nd and, sometimes if I stretch that long, 3rd hair day than first, if I use a 'meh' product. With the right products, though, my 1st hair can also look amazing.

In my case, my length on my canopy looks "drier" than the roots and other parts. I don't know if the porosity is slightly higher there, since that part gets the most exposure of elements, but my hair analysis result showed that my hair is mostly low porosity. So I figure, the good 2nd and 3rd (even from pre-CG) is when the sebum finally manage to lubricate the length. So I concentrate on applying conditioner on the length, also covering the length with Spritz-to-Condish method prior washing.

Today's a good day since I tried a new combo this morning and it works wonderfully!

zwavy

How can I find out the properties of my hair? And by messy i mean sticking up in random places and without definition. I find it weird since Isleep on a silk scarf over my pillow, but when I wake up, I have almost no definition.

zwavy

And what is Spritz-to-Condish??? I'm curious!!

frckls

Spritz and Condish Washing for Porous Types+Thirsty Curls Everywhere!

The loss of definition perhaps indicates that you need more hold, so maybe layer a gel over the curl cream?

There are several hair analysis services. I used GoosefootPrint on Etsy. Komaza also offers one for a much larger fee. Knowing hair properties really helps figuring out how to care of the curls and saving a lot of trial-and-errors of choosing products.

zwavy

I am almost positive I am low or medium porosity, because when I used to do oil treatments, it did not "soak in" as a lot of peoples' hair soaks up oil. I have medium density, medium width, and my hair is just below my shoulders, in case any of this helps. :-)

frckls

If you're sure of it, you might benefit from ocassional protein treatment. It will take you a while to hit the perfect balance of conditioning and protein and the kind of protein your hair likes, but your hair seems to be able to manage a bit heavier conditioning.
Low-po hair can be easily mistaken as fine or medium, though. I thought my hair was medium as it can get babysoft at times, but it's apparently mostly coarse.

Annitta

zwavy wrote: »

I then wait for it to dry when I go to bed, but the cast still doesn't dry as much as my second and third-day hair routines. When I wake up my hair is a mess.

Are you going to bed with partly damp hair? That could be a problem.

zwavy

Nope! I go to bed with dry hair.

zwavy

Ok, so, I started using gel on my hair instead of a cream and I've had a lot more definition and less frizz. The only issue I have now is that the front of my hair is waving and shrinking more than the back. Is there a way I can make the back as wavy as the front? Thank you all for your help!

frckls

That happens to me as well. But I realized that it was because it's easier to properly scrunch the front part of my hair. What I do is scrunch the front-most part a bit less, then tilt my head back and give the back part a god scrunch. You can also rake/comb the front-part to stretch it out a bit.