curlygirlyme

StruttsWife

I have a few questions for you about my daughters curls. I believe that I have average porosity and a mix of medium/coarse hair.

My daughter on the other hand I think has fine hair and average porosity. For the longest time I was using VO5 Vanilla Mint (as condish and leave in) and then I used Aura hypo allergenic gel or Charles Worthington Big Waves Creme. Her hair always looked great.

We went to Houston for Christmas and it was humid there, her curls bounced back big time, as soon as we got home her hair stopped being as curly. It seem like anytime we go some place humid her hair does wonderful. What can I do to help her at home where it's drier?

One other thing, the shorter her hair is it seems to be curly, can you explain that to me too. LOL sorry I just have a lot of questions.

Ondulee

I've just done the porosity test where you run your finger and thumb up the hair strands from ends to scalp.

I can't say that i felt much but my hair strands sure "squeek" loud and clear!

Does this indicate the level of porosity if your hair makes noise like this? I'm assuming it might be high porosity as my hair is extremely frizzy(hence my name) an and dry and damaged w/ little to no defined curl pattern.

I'm using Loreal Vive Pro conditioner w/ Pearl protein but I can't see that it's helping at all. Am I using the wrong thing? Should I use something for moisture vs. protein?

LouisianaLeigh

i think i saw Struttwife comment that squeak = dry. but i would be curious to know if that also means porous. i've always felt like i'm catching on something but maybe it's just the vibrations from the squeak. ???

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wurly, fine to medium, currently growing for waist-length
embracing the waves since 10/20/08
my hair loves protein and hates jojoba oil, my scalp hates propylene glycol, my face hates silicones.

CurlyFireHorse

Check out her website. http://livecurlylivefree.com/

HTH. She has a lot of great information, arranged in an easy to read format.

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CurlyFireHorse
Hair: 2a or 3a (not sure), very porous and fine as frog hair
Day 1: Cowash and condition with AO GPB, ACV Rinse,
Co-Kra gel (this stuff is fantastic)
Day 2: KCKT, KCCC, plop, KCCC, plop again, air dry
Day 3: Curly Kinks Satin Roots, Coil Jam
Day 4: IAGirl's PT, KBB DT, FSG

Co-Kra gel is my own concoction of okra boiled in coconut milk. It is a cross between FSG and KCCC and leaves my hair very soft and shiny

mpgirl

It sounds like you need a good DT. When I started, I DT'd twice a week. For some, (like me) conditioner is just not enough.

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3b spirals, fine texture, normal porosity, dense
Picasa: Link
Deva Low Poo
Suave Naturals Coconut for detangling
Renpure Organics conditioner/leave-in
Homemade FSG
KCCC
Curl Junkie Stuff
BRHG


Nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect. -wabi-sabi

wavycurly40+

My head hurts!!!!

Do I really haveto learn all this? Is it gonna be on the test? lol

Seriously, it's hard to be absolutely certain about these hair tests, because I don't have other hair to compare it to. It seems like I'm medium/"normal" on everything.... and yet my hair still looks like a poofy sponge sometimes.

Maybe we should have a "hair testing party" where we all get together and compare hair texture and porosity.

We would have to NOT be in a public place....

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Wurly and proud!
Modified CG since 2008.

meadowlark2

Since hard water and mineral saturation are another cause of porosity, the water we wash with must be a factor. Is mineral saturation a result of hard water? Are there other ways for hair to become saturated with minerals?

I definitely have hard water. Just wondering how to compensate for that.

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cg Dec 08
fine to med texture w/ some coarse / high porosity 2c to 3a

elleces

Thanks for all of the great information in this thread! My hair is very humidity-dew point-sensitive - I get volume and happy curls in the summer (as long as the dew point is high) and get sad-sack droopy curls in the winter. Is this based on my texture (fine strands but a lot of hair) or my porosity (proteins dry me out and I can get over-conditioned easily but I can't skip it or I'll be too dry) or is it a mixture of both? What should I do to try and get summer curls in winter - types of products, methods?

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Botticelli/3A with some waves too!

tc

I am trying the porosity test too running my fingers up the hair shaft ... what does it mean if your fingers don't "catch" on anything but it doesn't feel completely smooth? the end-to-root direction definitely had more friction compared to running my fingers root-to-end, but not enough friction that I would call it "catching" on anything. Does that mean my hair is normal porosity or overly porous? It would be nice if I could feel the "control group" hair for this test so I can compare mine.

sew and sew

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“It was only a sunny smile and little it cost in the giving but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Kaisercurls

http://www.rouxblue.com/porosity.asp

I purchased this at Sally's. I purchased the corrector conditioner and the Mendex conditioner. I will let you know the results soon.
I used the corrector conditioner like regular conditioner. it is very thin. These come in 1oz trial sizes which makes it worth it to try it.
I did not see the extreme pack there. I would like to purchase this to see what kind of ingredients are in it.
Mendex does have a cone but the other conditioner does not.

Does a protein treatment take out the color on your hair? It seems to zap the color out of mine.

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I am a 2c w/spirals underneath! 35 years old with 85% white hair. I am currently using DevaOne everyday with No Poo. I am using Smooth N Shine Gel Conditioner Extra-Hold on my course hair and it works awesome for 3 bucks. I found putting Color Magic into my hair color really covers the gray well.

xcptnl

When we get together to do this can someone diffuse the back of my head near my crown so I can see if it would actually not lie flat on the top of my head? I have contemplated laying on my bed on my back with my head hanging off to see if I could get the diffuser up there properly.

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Central Massachusetts

One good reason to only maintain a small circle of friends is that three out of four murders are committed by people who know the victim. ~George Carlin~

In regards to Vagazzling: They just want to get into the goods without worrying about getting scratched up by fake crystals. ~spring1onu~

xcptnl

That is how I would describe mine too.

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Central Massachusetts

One good reason to only maintain a small circle of friends is that three out of four murders are committed by people who know the victim. ~George Carlin~

In regards to Vagazzling: They just want to get into the goods without worrying about getting scratched up by fake crystals. ~spring1onu~

mpgirl

What we won't do for our hair!

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3b spirals, fine texture, normal porosity, dense
Picasa: Link
Deva Low Poo
Suave Naturals Coconut for detangling
Renpure Organics conditioner/leave-in
Homemade FSG
KCCC
Curl Junkie Stuff
BRHG


Nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect. -wabi-sabi

Ondulee

What would be a really good natural(kitchen) DT? I can't afford expensive hair products right now but would love to know if a kitchen ingredient could moisturize my hair over the winter.

BTW, do I need to restructure with something like K-pak first? or just moisturize for the time being?

winnie_p

That is how I would have described mine, yesterday, too. After reading this thread, I went and got a restructuring treatment--I got Ion brand at Sally's. I did a protein treatment followed by a deep treatment today, and now my hair feels smooth in the end to root direction. I'm guessing that yesterday qualified as overly porous. My hair is a bit fuzzy, but it seems to be curling much better today than normal.

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password: curls
(wishful thinking on my part)

WurlyLox

I used to always do that, LOL. I had an old Curly Top diffusing dryer (flat, round head instead of a pistol type dryer) that had this knob on that back of it so that I could first put my bowl diffuser face down on the floor then sit the Curly Top on top of it with that knob down in the neck of the bowl diffuser. Then I'd turn it on and get on the bed, first hanging face down to get the front curling good then flip over and do the back.

I used to have great hair days that way even without the products we have now - I'm talking like 1985-95 until that dryer died. Haven't found a way to duplicate those results. Different cut back then, too, though - basically blunt cut with layers only in the last few inches. Gave me lovely spiral curls in my BSL hair using Paul Mitchell Liquid Sculpting Lotion on very wet hair (I'd figured out that much even then!).

My radiant heat pistol dryer came with a holder, but I can't put a diffuser on it or I'd try it with it. Wonder if there are other pistol dryers that come those holders? Hmm, you know I've never thought to see if one of my other dryers would fit in the holder. Will have to check that out!

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Current Main Rotation: MG217 medicated or Aim2Health 'poos as scalp needs, YTCarrots or Elucence cond., Spiral Solutions Protein Trtmt & Deeply Decadent Cond., CJCCCC reg or lite, KCCC, AO Mandarin Magic, Giovanni LA Hold Hair Spritz + lots more, sporadically

HG Method: Super Soaker-ing + Smasters-ing, short upside down diffusing then clips or clamps & air dry. Blend gray w/henna glosses

www.fotki.com/auntnett

Suburbanbushbabe

I consider my hair porous. I did the "run" test. Interestingly it didn't catch, but on the part that is still color processed I felt some bumps, so may be that's the caught part. Otherwise hair was smooth. Haven't done the sink or float test.

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My blog - http://suburbanbushbabe.wordpress.com/
My FOTKI - http://whatsnew.fotki.com/suburbanbushbabe/


Playing with my hair is a hobby. Fluffy, fine natural 4a. Goal= Healthy, beautiful hair that retains its length.

StruttsWife

Checking in ...

I've had a hugely busy week and I still have friends in town, so I haven't had time to come back and join the discussion more. I will definitely swing by when the madness calms a bit!

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- Tiffany
Hair Stylist and Curly Hair Specialist - St. Petersburg, FL (Tampa Bay)

Blog: Live Curly, Live Free
Facebook fan page: Live Curly Live Free

mojitochica

I guess my hair has very low porisity. Several have been floating on top of water for over 24 hours.

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My fotki
Hair type: normal, thick, highly porous, low elasticity
Current products: castor oil and water