Limited to 1 Hairstyle??? GAH!

Meeshla · 05-03-2012, 01:13 AM

I have been doing CG for about a month and have seen a huge improvement in most of my hair. Everything except the canopy has developed lovely 3-something curls. BUT the top canopy part is pretty much straight. It doesn't matter how much I scrunch or what products I use, it's just straight.

So I've been wearing my hair down but the top layer pulled back. While I think it looks nice, and shows off my curls, I am getting sick of always having the same hairdo.

Anybody have any ideas??

Touch.of.ink · 05-03-2012, 11:18 AM

There are other hair styles (braids, for example), but maybe you'd like it better if your canopy was a closer match to the rest of your hair?

Because the canopy is protecting the rest of the hair it is usually more damaged and it needs extra TLC. Are you giving your canopy more protein and/or conditioner? Or maybe argan oil? Or FSG?

Maybe it just needs a boost to start blending a little better?

Meeshla · 05-03-2012, 11:37 AM

I would LOVE it if it matched the rest of my hair! I don't feel like my hair is very damaged - even before CG I never dyed my hair and only rarely blow-dried or straightened it. My hairdresser said protein is only if your hair is damaged, so I haven't used it.

I give it lots of conditioner though. And it does feel dryer than the rest of my hair, so maybe it will just take some time...

What's FSG?

kimmidawn · 05-03-2012, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meeshla

I would LOVE it if it matched the rest of my hair! I don't feel like my hair is very damaged - even before CG I never dyed my hair and only rarely blow-dried or straightened it. My hairdresser said protein is only if your hair is damaged, so I haven't used it.

I give it lots of conditioner though. And it does feel dryer than the rest of my hair, so maybe it will just take some time...

What's FSG?

FSG is flax seed gel, which there is a recipe in the 2s forum somewhere. As far as protein, I can attest to the fact it's not just for damaged hair. If you have fine hair (or to a lesser degree for those with medium texture), your hair will most likely love protein and it will make your curls perk up.

2a/2b, fine texture, medium-high density, normal porosity, normal elasticity

Meeshla · 05-03-2012, 12:50 PM

Okay maybe I'll give it a try. Is protein something I buy somewhere? I don't want to put food in my hair... any recommendations?

kimmidawn · 05-03-2012, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meeshla

Okay maybe I'll give it a try. Is protein something I buy somewhere? I don't want to put food in my hair... any recommendations?

Do you have a Sally's near you? If so you could go to the color section and find Neutral Protein Filler and you just add a few drops to the amount of conditioner you use that day. For a harder hit of protein, you could also use Aphogee 2 Step reconstructor (also found at Sally's).

2a/2b, fine texture, medium-high density, normal porosity, normal elasticity

wavymom · 05-03-2012, 01:29 PM

Or just go to the grocery and pick up some unflavored gelatin! Try IAgirl's PT. I LOVE this. (Better said, my hair does!)

I try to do it once per week, although it often ends up being more like every other week.
PT recipe - as promised

Meeshla · 05-03-2012, 03:58 PM

I live in Canada and am not sure if I can find the products you mentioned. But the gelatin sounds easy enough. I'll try it and see how it goes!
Thanks

swtndspcy · 05-03-2012, 04:07 PM

How is your hair cut? Do you have layering? Having some shorter layers on top would allow more of the understory to show through.
You could try pin curling the top. Or a shortcut method I have used is just secure little mini buns with small hair ties overnight. My understory is my problem area, and most of time if I can just get the ends to wave it blends just fine, but if I want more volume/curl I will twist 4 or 5 mini buns across the nape area overnight.
I have also noticed that my understory does much better when I pay special attention to it while styling. Like making sure I cover that area with gel and making sure that is the very first part I diffuse so that the water doesn't have a chance to pull it down.
I agree however that given time and TLC it may catch up with the rest. For my entire 1st year of CG (which I had only discovered I was wavy maybe a year before I started) I did protein treatments followed by deep conditioning every week. I also did coconut oil pre-poo's every time before I cleansed. Looking back at my early CG pics, I can definitely tell my curl pattern has tightened up.

wxgirlcurl · 05-03-2012, 08:53 PM

You got some great replies here. I also second the layering and IAgirl's PT treatment. My hair seems to like it once a month but that is because of some of my coarser hair textures on top.

You can also try plopping with harder hold gel on that top layer then diffusing upside down.

Meeshla · 05-03-2012, 10:08 PM

Thank-you all for the ideas! I don't want to cut it too short yet in case curls end up coming out in the near future. In the last month, my under layer has gone from wavy to curly, so I am secretly hoping the top layer will go from straight to at least wavy...

I've found some gelatin in my MIL's cupboard. Now off to mix up some goop!

I'll post pics if it turns out well.

Meeshla · 05-03-2012, 10:49 PM

Just finished with the protein treatment. I'm not sure if I'm noticing a difference or if it's just the placebo effect. I'll know more when my hair is dry.

Also, I couldn't find any ACV or normal vinegar around so I used a bit of lime juice. Was this a bad idea?? I'll try it properly next time round...

When my hair is dry I'll put up some pics...

wavymom · 05-04-2012, 09:12 AM

Would love to see the pics! I have no idea about using lime juice instead of vinegar... maybe IAgirl can chime in if she reads this? But I would also tell you that if your hair didn't hate the protein (which it sounds like it did not), to stick with these PTs and over time you will see a much stronger effect than you may with just your first-ever PT. I know this is how it worked for me. My first one was kind of 'meh', it seemed to help a bit, my hair didn't hate it, but it wasn't too obvious of a result. But after the 2nd and then the 3rd... then I was sold.

Meeshla · 05-04-2012, 01:48 PM

This is good advice because my hair kind of turned out the same as other days... here's a pic (once again top part pulled back haha)...

wavymom · 05-04-2012, 02:04 PM

Looking good meeshla! I like your waves.
I would just try to do this regularly (whatever you find your hair will allow... 1x per week, 1x per month?) and see what happens over time. You should read pedaheh's testimonial for this PT on page 6 of that thread, post #115 for some additional motivation to keep up with it!
PT recipe - as promised

Meeshla · 05-04-2012, 06:55 PM

Yeah thanks! It's getting there... you can see a slight difference when compared to the little avatar picture. Less frizzy and slightly more wave. Hope this trend continues until I look like all you beautiful curly girls!

pedaheh · 05-04-2012, 07:32 PM

I agree with the advice in this thread. I agree that you should keep doing PTs since your hair did not seem to dislike them. My first PTs were kind of meh. A little better, but nothing major. Now I feel they are essential for my hair and make a huge difference. You can also experiment with leaving it on longer. I leave my PTs on for an hour.
You describe your hair as dry dry dry. Have you tried coconut oil? Coconut oil was magic for me when my hair was very dry.
I add enough coconut oil to my hair to make it look like I've had the flu for a week and haven't felt well enough to wash it. Leave it on for 20 minutes to overnight. Then was as usual. It cowashes right out for me. Start with 20 minutes. Try it on a small section/curl of your hair the first time you do it. Some people find that it is hard to remove from their hair. You don't want to risk having a whole head of oily hair.
Unrefined coconut oil works best. It has a lovely coconut scent. If you hate the smell of coconut, you can use the refined. You can find coconut oil in the health food sections of most grocery stores.

JLeighs · 05-04-2012, 11:16 PM

I wonder if you're unintentionally prolonging the problem by keeping the canopy pulled back all the time? I'm only mentioning this because I've noticed that if I do that too many days in a row, the part I've pulled back is less curly than normal for a day or two, which makes sense because I'm pulling it straight. My advice would be to let the canopy down and continue to do all you can to encourage the curl.

carmelwaves · 05-05-2012, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meeshla

I have been doing CG for about a month and have seen a huge improvement in most of my hair. Everything except the canopy has developed lovely 3-something curls. BUT the top canopy part is pretty much straight. It doesn't matter how much I scrunch or what products I use, it's just straight.

So I've been wearing my hair down but the top layer pulled back. While I think it looks nice, and shows off my curls, I am getting sick of always having the same hairdo.

Anybody have any ideas??

I actually have a somewhat siimilar issue!! The underside is VERY curly, but the top part is just 2A.

I would try braiding just the top part wet before you go to bed. Take it out in the morning and see what you think. If you hate it, you can just pull it back again.

Meeshla · 05-05-2012, 05:58 PM

Yeah, when I first started I experimented with some oils and it took FOREVER to come out of my hair so now I'm really cautious. I do use some oil but not a ton. And I think it's slowly getting more moisturized.

And I agree that it really makes sense that the top part is straight from being pulled back so often. I will leave it down for a while and try that. Or maybe I could pin it back but looser so it's not pulled straight or something.