EVERYTHING IS 2 HEAVY! Suggestions please...

[Blithe2]

I have been CG for about 6-7 weeks. I have had to use a kathymack soapbar every other day since the beginning of "cooler" weather. I live in upstate SC.

I have been trying everything to tame my hair. It has went from one extreme to another - tangled, dry mess to now waxy and coated. I've always been on the oily side...

I have used a brown sugar scrub, acv & beer rinses, protein & deep treatments. My hair bounces back after doing these things but then gets weighed down immediately.

Obviously, the stylers I am using are too heavy or just wrong. I have tried KCCC, Alagio, recoil etc. Of coarse, not together but one of the above with various gels/mousses (AOMM, BHRG, HE mousse, Curls GG, etc).

I am 3a? with fine to medium texture thin hair with high porosity where I get lighter blonde hi-lights throughout. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated about any part of the daily modified CG routine.

[wavy wonder]

using a soap bar every other day might be too much?!?! I use mine twice a week. Your hair might be wax because of too much use from soap bars. Do you ACV rinse after each use??? An acv rinse that many times in a week would be very drying as well.

[Blithe2]

My hair gets so greasy & weighed down though. I've tried sooo many different light conditioners.

[Blithe2]

Oh. Sorry I didn't answer you. Yes, I do acv rinses after the soap bar.

[LoloDSM]

I got build-up from using the soap bars. I get much better results from using a sulfate-free shampoo (I use Kinky Curly Come Clean).

My hair is thin and fine and also gets weighed down easily. Some things that have helped are:

* no leave-in conditioner or only a lightweight spray leave-in.
* I use KCCC with a teeny dab of BRHG; I have to go easy with the KCCC or my hair gets weighed down, so I use much less now.
* every other day, I use a lightweight rinse out conditioner instead of a heavier one; I use Kinky Curly Knot Today when I don't need much moisture.
*I do a weekly ACV.

[Blithe2]

LoloDSM, how ofter do you shampoo with KCCC?

[wavy wonder]

sorry, i re worded my response as it didn't make sense. i meant to say using a soap bar every other day might not be good. Try lo pooing a few times a week and a soap bar once a week.

[LoloDSM]

Originally Posted by Blithe2

LoloDSM, how ofter do you shampoo with KCCC?

I usually use it every 4-5 days. I never get second-day hair and wet mine down every day for styling.

[Alexjoujou]

I echo trying a low poo instead of a soap bar or shampoo bar. While I love them I usually use it every three days at most. I am using other low poo's in between if needed. I base it on how my hair feels. I use stuff with polyquat's and sometimes beeswax so if my hair feels coated I use a low poo.

I've used Deva Low Poo, Healthy Sexy Hair Chocolate Soymilk, Giovanni Tea Tree or Wheat shampoo and the latest one is MOP C Hydrating shampoo. That one is by far my favorite. It does not strip at all--but cleans very well.

Conditioners are harder for me. There are some lighter ones and you may need to use a very light hand with product. Literally enough to just rub between your palms. Like a streak of product almost (not even near a pea sized amount). I use Donna Marie Detangler and LOVE it but I use a very small amount and have not been O'Cd.

For curl creme's I recommend Duchess of Curls. It is VERY light to me and works excellently. As far as gel's I also use very small amount of product and I just smooth it in and don't rake it.

For me I found the key is in the amount of product I use. I think many of the ladies on this board would be shocked at how little I use. I think my 1oz sample of Donna Marie Detangler conditioner has already lasted me a month and I have 65% left.

This is actually new to me as my hair used to be much more porous and could handle much more product.

You may also want to try the spritz and condish (Del2C's method) as this may reduce the amount of water in your hair and help if your hair is porous.

[Blithe2]

HSH chocolate soymilk shampoo CG? Could I use it daily or at least every other day?? I know I can find that locally at TJ Maxx.

[Blithe2]

LoloDSM, so do you only wash with water or a conditioner in between the KCCC?

[goobernut]

Hey Blithe, my hair gets easily weighed down too. I second the DoC recommendation -- very light styler.

I'm a wavy, so I loo-poo every time I wet my hair. Which is like every other day. Yes, HSH chocolate soymilk is sulfate free and very cleansing. When I need more moisture I use Deva Loo-poo, when I want more cleansing I use the Giovanni TTTT like Alex mentioned.

My fave conditioner is Mastey Pure for fine hair. I'm not sure where you can buy this product, as its something I picked up at TJ maxx. I've found that oils tend to weigh my hair down, so I look for conditioners without oils. I use a very light conditioner, and then use a very light spray leave in , or lately I've been playing with creamy leave ins. I use super light ones and small amounts. I'm like alex, I think my sample of CJ CA leave in lasted me nearly a month and I used it at least 2-3x a week.

I'm another one that got build up with the soap bars, it can be due to your hard water. I really liked the curl I got with it, but man did I get build up.

[LoloDSM]

Originally Posted by Blithe2

LoloDSM, so do you only wash with water or a conditioner in between the KCCC?

I don't co-wash or scrub my scalp on the days I don't shampoo. I just wet my hair in the shower and condition the ends before rinsing and re-styling.

[Blithe2]

Thanks so so soooo much for everyones advice. I have some new options to try now. I don't want to give up.

[DEL2C]

Blithe2 if you are porous using soap bars is not a good idea. Soap bars may be "natural" but on the wrong type of hair it can be extremely harsh. Use a low poo once in a while instead. WavyWonder started a thread not too long ago about issues with soap bars and build up. Look at her profile and you'll find the thread. Porous hair is already damaged in some way and soap bars strip your acid mantle and raise the cuticle which is the last thing in the world a porous head needs! A closed cuticle is what to aim for when you're porous. Using ACV rinses is very helpful. Stop the bars that waxy feeling is not good. I had to resort to sulphates to get that feeling out and lots of DT's and Conditioner washing.

[Blithe2]

I really, really appreciate everyones advice but I am so confused. What can I cleanse with as much as every other day if I need to (not conditioner)? low poo, no poo - these terms are extremely confusing to me.

Would the HSH soy milk shampoo work for that reason? Thanks everyone.

[wavy wonder]

I can't find the thread...it might of been a topic within a topic
Use a lo poo at least once a week. Lo poo is shampoo that is natural w/ no sulfates. some good ones at the grocery store are:

Giavanni -- sold at target and Walmart
Burts bee--- not sure how good it is? maybe someone else can chime in.
Naked naturals-- sold at walgreens.

[goobernut]

Yes, HSH chocolate soy milk would work.

Loo-poo is a sulfate free shampoo. No-poo is either a conditioner wash, or specifically referring to devacurl's "washing" product.

[Alexjoujou]

Originally Posted by goobernut

Yes, HSH chocolate soy milk would work.

Loo-poo is a sulfate free shampoo. No-poo is either a conditioner wash, or specifically referring to devacurl's "washing" product.

100% right. You can wash every day if you need to...base it on your hair's needs. There are many shampoo's you can find that are sulfate free if you look a little bit.

Mop C shampoo's are mostly sulfate free (I think they all are but I haven't looked at all of them

Deva Low Poo can be found at Ulta

Healthy Sexy Hair Chocolate Soymilk can usually be gotten at Marshall's or TJ Maxx cheaply.

Giovanni has several sulfate free poo's (stay away from Smooth as Silk as it has cones in it) like 50/50 and Tea Tree.

Trader Joe's shampoo's I think are sulfate free...they have refresh, nourish, and their own Giovanni knock off Tea Tree shampoo. Very cheap.

When you are at Marshall's or TJ Maxx look for shampoo's that say sulfate free. You may find some that none of us has even heard of...and some of them may be great.

In between (if you don't want to do it daily) then you can look at doing water washes as above and condition your ends if they need it.

You may also want to look at a spray leave in--they tend to be lighter...or specifically look for very light conditioners that don't have heavy ingredients like oil's.

I recommend seeing if you can order some samples from kathymack. She ships quick and you can try a lot of things and I think she has the Donna Marie and Curl Junkie detangler/leave in's as well as Giovanni. Those tend to be lighter.

Good luck!

[DEL2C]

Originally Posted by wavy wonder

I can't find the thread...it might of been a topic within a topic
Use a lo poo at least once a week. Lo poo is shampoo that is natural w/ no sulfates. some good ones at the grocery store are:

Giavanni -- sold at target and Walmart
Burts bee--- not sure how good it is? maybe someone else can chime in.
Naked naturals-- sold at walgreens.

you're right WW maybe it was a topic within a topic....Blithe here's a little "blurb" from our Curly Chemist.

Use of soap to cleanse one’s hair, especially long curly hair, seems to be a really effective way of permanently destroying the cuticle layer and making the hair very highly porous.
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlre...and-curly-hair

You may want to read up on porous hair also Struttswife wrote an e-book that is very informative you may want to check it out She also started a thread for newbies not too long ago http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlta...ad.php?t=78318

as mentioned being on the porous side myself I do find the best way to clean my hair is using Spritz & Condish washing. It may be worth trying.