Vintage Posts from the CN Forums - Part 1

Ciao bellas! As promised, here are some of the posts from my mini blog on the CN forums:

13-08-2012
I haven't washed my hair in nearly 2 weeks (gross, I know). My scalp was itching like crazy, there were brown and white flakes popping up in my twists at random times, and my situation was D.R.Y. So, I made today wash day! 

I put my hair into 11 twists before I went to bed last night, so pre-pooing was easy this morning. I undid each twist, poured some oil onto it, worked it through with my fingers (and lightly finger detangled), and twisted up again. I let it sit while I was here on CN for almost 2 hours. Then I hit the shower. I let the water run over my hair for a minute or two, and then shampooed my scalp with TRESemme Climate Control shampoo (OAN: I wish I could use more shampoo than just a few quarter sized dollops!! I made the mistake of buying the 32 oz size of TRESemme shampoo, and it will likely last me until next year, easily. *sighs*) and rinsed well. I then undid each twist, applied generous amounts of VO5 conditioner (Strawberries & Cream and Pomegrante & Grapeseed extract) and retwisted. I let the conditioner stay in while I soaped up and cleaned the rest of my body, and then I rinsed it out. It wasn't a super thorough rinsing, so I didn't undo each twist and let the water run through, etc. But most of the conditioner is out.

I'm about to do my DC of Aussie Sydney Smooth and grapeseed oil, which I will cover with a plastic bag and leave in until tomorrow. I plan to rinse out most of it, and then follow up with a 2:1 ACV rinse to help clarify any other parts of my scalp that I might've missed with the shampoo. Afterwards, I will coat each section in coconut oil, flat twist, and let my hair stretch out and dry to be ready for mini twist installation (I want to do a practice set before putting in the real ones; just to make sure I know what I'm doing).


Update: My DC has changed for the year! I have to use gel on my mini twists to help them stay together, but I was having problems with white stuff coming up everywhere with my Fantasia IC gel and TRESemme. Somebody posted in another thread to put a little gel and conditioner in the palm of your hand to see if they'll mix well. So I tested all of my conditioners, and the ones that pass are:

Aussie Sydney Smooth
Aussie Moist
Fresh Elements Captivatin' Color
TRESemme Vitamin B12 & Gelatin Anti-Breakage

The rest of the TRESemme conditioners were a total no-go with the gel. They balled up, made the gel turn into gunk, etc. I was glad to find that out in my hand before turning my hair into a gunky white mess! So TRESemme Moisture Rich,Flawless Curls, Climate Control and Smoth & Silky will be my weekly DCs instead of Aussie. I tested my Pantene Anti-Breakage too, and that was one was...eh. So that'll also be on my DC list. The only problem is that most of the conditioners that mixed well with the Fantasia gel, I only have half empty containers of! TRESemme is the only full one. So I'll have to buy more Aussie and Fresh Elements when I run out.

I slathered lots of TRESemme Smooth & Silky on a few twists with some grapeseed oil to see how it'd turn out. It feels weird not using TRESemme as a leave in, but it makes a pretty darn good DC. I can easily finger detangle with it in my hair, which is a plus!



I finally finished off my bottle of TRESemme Smooth & Silky! I was getting so tired of using it. Now, I'm back to an old favorite for DCs: TRESemme Vitamin E Moisture Rich! I haven't used this since I was transitioning, so it's like visiting an old friend. It was gloriously moisturising on my last few twists!

Regimen update: I'm considering alternating between protein and moisture DTs every week while my mini twists are in (and even when they're not). VO5 conditioners are loaded with hydrolysed collagen, hydrolysed keratin, silk proteins, silk amino acids, gelatin, hydrolysed silk proteins - pretty much anything for strengthening or protein treatments. I like VO5 and the conditioners are dirt cheap, so why not use what I have? Those, combined with coconut oil, should be a "beasty" protein DT that my many fine strands will appreciate. Today was obviously a moisture DC, so my next wash session will be protein galore!

There's been another hair success in my household: my sister! She's a stubborn, hair lazy natural with super thick, fine-stranded raven colored waves that cascade down her shoulders. Her weekly routine is very simple: shampoo with TRESemme Moisture Rich shampoo, condition with Suave Naturals, detangle (and leave in) with Pantene NatureFusion Moisture Balance or Aussie Moist conditioner and John Freida Frizz-Ease Extra Strength Formula serum. She puts her hair into 10-12 braids, or simply buns it, and she's done for the week. Usually, by the next day, her hair looks dry and is frizzy. This week though, I convinced her to spritz her hair with water, add 2-3 quarter sized dollops of conditioner to her entire head, and then seal with Fantasia IC Olive Moisturising Shine Serum. The results were amazing! Her hair looks so much shinier, and is holding moisture better. Her frizzies are nearly gone, too. Looks like my sister will be taking my container of Fantasia...