So sick of the frizz! Help a 2b girl out!

StoneyCurls · 07-18-2012, 07:47 AM

I have 2b type curl, which is probably 2-3 inches below my shoulders, and pretty thick. With this hot and humid weather, I have been having a hell of a time keeping the frizz under control! I have switched to co-washing and using the Curls hair products from Sally's, as well as John Frieda frizz ease, and using Fructis leave-in conditioner for frizz control as my leave in. I read on naturally curly to put hair gel in on soaking wet hair, and although that did help, it just kind of disgusts me b/c it is such a huge mess.
I should also mention that I have used Diva Curl, One n' Only Argan oil, Fructis Curling mouse and creme (although the mouse seemed to control my frizz, but was so stiff) and most recently, the Selma Hayak curl creme-which wasn't bad, but still frizzed. I should also mention that I scrunch the conditioner in upside down, wide tooth comb my hair in the shower, use a t-shirt or a micro-fiber towel, and defuze my hair after 20-40 mins of air drying. PLEASE, if you have any suggestions on what to do/products to use to help get rid of frizz, and not have stiff or too much product/weighted down hair for a 2b curly hair, I could really use it!

*I should mention that although I've been a lurker to this site for some time, I'm def a forum noob and am still unsure of all the terms and how to get started figuring out my hair. Any info pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated

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wavymom · 07-18-2012, 01:36 PM

Some amount of frizz is probably inevitable in hot humid weather. But, I bet that we can help you improve on your current frizz level. First off, if you are switching to co-washing, you need to cut out the silicones in all of your hair products (these are ingredients that end with -cone, -xane, or -conol). Without sulfate shampoos or coco-betaine shampoos, these silicones are not removed from your hair, and many of them can just build up. Build up = frizz. I can pretty much guarantee your John Freida product(s) have silicones in them, for instance.

Have you seen pedaheh's blog? It is a great resource to get you started on the CG (curly girl) method. Pedaheh's Hair Blog: How do I get started?

Also - do you know your hair properties? These can help you determine what kinds of products may work well for your hair. Live Curly Live Free - Curly Hair Basics

StoneyCurls · 07-18-2012, 02:09 PM

Thank you for your response, Wavymom. For the past few hours I've been researching the site, and stumbled up Pedaheh's blog as well. I think I've discovered that although I thought I've been doing the CG method by co washing and not using shampoo, I'm still using products with cones and that's my problem.
Looks like I need to figure out my hair's properties, as well. Oh my! There's so much to learn! But it's exciting, b/c maybe now I'll have the curls I've been wanting!

kathymack · 07-18-2012, 03:14 PM

I was going to comment that you're using products with cones, but that's already been mentioned. As you know, cowashing won't take them out.

Around here, Diva is a love/hate product line. Many of us started with them, thought we liked them and then moved on to other things that worked a lot better.

Once you determine your hair properties, you can look for other folks with hair like yours and see what they use (in signatures.) It's the best place to start.

You may want to check out sealing. My hair doesn't care for plain oils or butters, so I use a minute amount of really rich product to seal my hair. It keeps the moisture in my hair--and it doesn't allow my hair to absorb the water from the air. When the dew points are really well, sealing prevents the dry air from sucking the moisture out of your hair.

If your hair is fine or porous, you may want to add protein to your routine. Even the most protein sensitive hair usually wants a little in the warmer weather. I do at least one PT a week and use a lot of products with protein. It really helps reduce the frizz for me.

StoneyCurls · 07-19-2012, 08:08 AM

Ok, so yesterday I went and checked out all of my products, and all of them, except the Curls brand, and my One n' Only argan oil curl creme had cones or sulfates. So, I went and bought the L'oreal Ever Pure Smoothing Conditioner as my leave in, the Ever Pure defining creme, and the Ever Style defining curl gel. I wasn't 100% sure if the gel was cone free, although it didn't list any cones, but a quick google search at walgreens prompted some testimonials of others doing CG with the gel and having good results. I disposed of all my other products (per my bf's orders of me buying more-so much trial and error recently!) and this morning I used my sulfate clarifying shampoo for the last time to get all the products out, co-washed with Curls brand pre wash creme, applied Curls band Curladd, rinsed, raked the LI in upside down, applied the creme and gel 50% (smasters method, I believe?) and plopped for 20 mins. After, I pixie-dryed my hair-probably only 45-50% dry-b/c I was running out of time. This new method might require me getting up earlier!
Let me tell you: the frizz has DRAMATICALLY improved! My hair is looking pretty good today, except a few spots that could be a little curlier. I had a really hard time not touching it this morning-so maybe that's part of my frizz problem.
I've read before that after your hair has dried, you can bend over and gently shake your curls out with your fingers at your scalp..does anyone do that/recommend/unrecommend that? My hair is pretty crunchy right now, so I would like for it to be softer.

wavymom · 07-19-2012, 07:34 PM

Great!!! Keep at it and your curls will thank you.

You can definitely scrunch out the crunch (SOTC). Using bare hands or lightly coating your hands with oil, curl creme, conditioner, pomade, etc - you can scrunch your hair once it's totally dry. I usually gather the ends in the palms of my hands and press up towards my head, and do it that way. But play around and see what works for you. Don't be afraid of crunch - it can help hold your curls in place while they dry, and then can usually be scrunched out!

MotorCurl · 07-25-2012, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StoneyCurls

I've read before that after your hair has dried, you can bend over and gently shake your curls out with your fingers at your scalp..does anyone do that/recommend/unrecommend that? My hair is pretty crunchy right now, so I would like for it to be softer.

I like to do this depending on what products I've used. If I use KCCC, I can use this method and get out most of the crunch without too much handling (and way less frizz). If I use a harder hold product that's really crunchy, the shake and shuffle method doesn't work for me and I have to actually scrunch it out. The extra handling gives me extra frizz though.