Winter Root Lifter

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Curly Q&A

I hope that everyone who shares my Northeastern United States weather system is faring well through yet another winter! I have been battling the usual ills: dry, limp hair, an itchy scalp, and more frequently required oil treatments. I actually got bored over the holidays and cut my hair off, so when it’s curly it comes about halfway down my neck. I am LOVING it and am so glad that I finally took the plunge! I plan to grow it back out again, but at more even lengths to make it feel fuller and less like a mullet. While this leads to naturally healthier hair since scalp oils don’t have as far to travel to saturate my ends, I have definitely still been struggling.

One cold-weather hero of mine has always been dry shampoo. I now realize that that was completely asinine. Curly-haired folk have to constantly combat dryness, and moisture and conditioning should be a part of our daily regimen. My hair is so fine that it tends to get greasy after a few days, and my knit winter hat also presses it down so that it’s looking stringy and sad by day two. In order to stretch hair washes by at least a few days each week, I would spray my hair with oil and proceed to dust some dry shampoo on my scalp. This works well for a couple of hours, but doesn’t hold up through a busy day or workout.

I decided to check out alternatives that would condition while lifting the hair at my roots, essentially solving my limpness problem. Luckily for me, the savvy young lady (with AMAZING hair) who helped me at Ricky’s near Union Square in NYC had the perfect solution!

Enter the moisturizing root lifter. It acts as a dry shampoo might, but without the drying component — it simply lifts roots while conditioning the scalp so that itchiness and flatness are no longer a problem. It also has a heat protector! I spray it sparingly on my roots after washing and styling but before blow-drying, and now my do’s are easily lasting three days before I need to put my hair up or wash it to look presentable. My hair even looked a bit like a wig when I woke up on day two yesterday, it was so full and that was certainly not the case before. I even wore a hat over it for the entire day prior. The ingredients are harmless and actually seem to be helping my hair to be healthier and stronger. I have not found that I have to reapply before my next co-wash.

If any of the issues above sound familiar to you, try it out and let me know what you think in the comments below! What else do you do to battle winter flatness, static and dryness?

The Oil Treatment to End All

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Curly Q&A

Hey folks! Well, we are in the final countdown to my much-anticipated wedding. It’s this Sunday and I will have a full report for you, along with pics of my hair style. I’m heading over to Arté Salon today to practice the style one more time with Amy, and then I’m on my own. She doesn’t do wedding hair, but has been practicing with me so that I can feel more confident doing it myself up in the mountains on the big day. I was reassured recently that I’m doing the right thing by styling my own hair at the wedding — no one has ever given me a fancy hairstyle that I like. Gotta take it into my own hands!

Image courtesy of NaturallyCurly.com

Before we get to all that, of course I have also been prepping my hair for the grand occasion. This includes split end trims (done in my bathroom at home, of course) and lots of conditioning, but most importantly, I’ve been going to Bliss Spa (Soho, NYC) for face and body treatments and I always add my favorite indulgence — Hair Dew. It is by far the very best hair treatment that I’ve ever had. The good news is, I’ve slowly broken down my treatment specialists and I HAVE THE RECIPE! It’s not expensive to get it done at Bliss, it’s about $35, so I highly recommend it if you ever go because they do a nice head massage. However, you can only get it as an add-on to other (more expensive) services.

The alternative is to buy the expensive ingredients and do it at home yourself as you wish. I’ll leave that decision up to you. But suffice it to say, this is the best oil treatment I’ve ever had! It has a balancing oil for your scalp (extra helpful if you tend to have a dry or itchy scalp) and amazing botanicals for the hair. This is A+ stuff, baby. So without further ado…

Ingredients:

Phyto Botanical Scalp Treatment

Phytocitrus Color Protect Radiance Mask

Phytosesame Hydrating Cream for Dry Hair

Procedure:

Start with dry hair, and it doesn’t matter how clean or greasy it is. First apply the Scalp Treatment. This comes with a pipette which is used to apply the stuff directly to your scalp. Use one full pipette per treatment. Place tip directly on scalp at varied locations and squeeze some out in each spot. My experience has been 7-8 sites on the scalp works best. Next, apply the Radiance Mask throughout hair. Lastly, apply the Hydrating Cream to the ends. Experiment with how much you use, based on hair length and thickness, but err on the less-is-more side since this stuff is $$$.

Once all has been applied, rub your scalp and give yourself a nice massage. If your hair is long or not staying put with all that cream in it, tie it up with an elastic band (alternatively — a less harsh tie that works well is the ends of sleeves on old t-shirts. Just cut them off in inch-thick strips and you have a round elasticy-but-soft hair tie.) Put on a shower cap or tie a plastic bag over your hair if you’re on a budg or like to upcycle. If you’re super attentive, put a heated cap or hot towel over your hair to open pores for better absorption. Let this whole thing sit for 20-30 minutes. You may also decide to sleep with the treatment on, which is what I do. Up to you! Take the heated cap or towel off before sleeping and tie a bandana or old scarf over your shower cap to keep it on straight and avoid staining sheets and pillows.

Wash out the whole mixture with 4 tablespoons lemon juice and equal parts conditioner, massaging into scalp. I’d suggest your least expensive conditioner for this step since it’s not in your hair for long, and its main purpose is to tone down the acidity in the lemon juice. Note: This will not make your hair blonde because you will thoroughly wash it out immediately after applying. Think of it as a shampoo. Do not leave it on for more than a few minutes.

Enjoy!

Voila! Your hair will be silky and amazing. I do this maybe a few times a year since it’s so expensive and is a lot of work. I’d suggest doing it a few days before any big event. Your hair has never been so shiny, believe me! One final note: Do not shy away from products that are for color-treated or very damaged hair even if yours is not. These just have more concentrated amounts of the good stuff and your hair will absorb it just as much as damaged strands. If you are ever choosing between two similar conditioning products and one is for damaged hair while one is for normal/dry, go for damaged.

Visit NaturallyCurly.com for more hair oil ideas!

In the name of treatments and laughs, a tribute to one of America’s sweethearts. Thanks for everything you’ve contributed, Mr. Williams. You will be always be remembered. Who could forget the pie treatment mask?

Mud Runners Beware!

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Curly Q&A

Can you spot my slight update to the Mudderella logo?

On Saturday I ran in a Warrior Dash with some friends. You’ve heard of mud runs by now if you live in the USA, and possibly even if not — it’s the newest way to showcase your crazy. They are races that involve a variety of insane obstacles such as barbed wire to crawl under, junk cars to jump over, fire to hop, walls to scale, lakes to swim, rocks to run over, and much more. I swore that I’d never partake in such a thing, but my decision was quickly reversed when I saw how many people have taken part in the trend, how much fun they’ve had, and that there are “lite” versions for those of us who do not consider ourselves “runners.” I am very physically active in many ways, but I’ve always struggled with running. Regardless of whether you go with a Warrior Dash, a Mudderella, or the full-scale Tough Mudder, one thing remains the same: You will get covered in mud.

For, as the genre name suggests, the main trait that ties all of these runs together is racing through the mud like a damned fool. Naturally my first thought was, “But what about my hair?” Now again, I am no scientist, but I know that mud has the ability to extract dirt from pores and possibly even venom from some vermin bites, so I can only imagine what kind of drying effect it might have on hair if left on too long.

Me on the left: Notice, no one can tell how greased-up my hair is! Who cares!

I prefer to go at life with a proactive approach, so I decided to coat my hair with a ton of conditioner just before taking off, and covered my hair with an old bandana. My first inclination was to put on a shower cap and tie that on with a bandana, but I realized I’d look even more crazy and the thing would probably fall off anyway. Conditioner acts as a shield in all kinds of climates; it absorbs into the “pores” of your hair, saturating it to protect against humidity and dry weather. So wouldn’t it help the mud to slick right off? One would assume so.

Muddy Mud Skipper of Ren & Stimpy fame, for anyone else who grew up in the 90’s!

When I returned home, I rinsed my hair thoroughly, not to mention the rest of myself, and applied one of my favorite conditioning masks overnight. The next morning I washed it all out with lemon juice and conditioner, and it looked and felt like nothing had ever happened.

Problem solved! So now you have no excuses — if you’re healthy, in decent shape, and can find a mud run nearby, go for it. Just be very careful my muddy mudskippers, and know that you can always walk right by any obstacles that are too scary!

That’s a Wrap!

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Curly Q&A

Click image to enlarge. That guy sticking up in the middle is the Freedom Tower, lit up with some patriotic red white and blue!

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a swanky hair blogger party hosted by Ojon in the penthouse of The Standard in New York City’s East Village. In addition to some excellent cocktails and a stellar view (at right), I learned so much more about curl textures very different than my own — my new-found knowledge will soon be cultivated into some interesting posts — and I immediately had to share an awesome product that I will be trying as soon as it arrives in the mail.

While speaking to a lovely woman from Essence.com about the perils of properly deep-conditioning at home, I mentioned how sad I am that I can’t fit my portable hood dryer into my Brooklyn apartment. She told me about the Hair Therapy Wrap, which essentially does the same thing as hooded dryers:

Courtesy amazon.com

You apply the deep conditioner or oil treatment, her favorite was Curl Junkie’s Curl Rehab, and microwave this thick towel-like cap until it’s nice and steamy. Then you put it on over your greased-up hair and leave it as long as you want. The thickness and something about the material retains heat really well, which is why it’s better than a regular old towel. Also, it won’t slip off as easily.

I’ll write another update once I’ve tried it myself, but I have high hopes! What a great solution to an often-messy problem.

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Tag Archives: condition

Winter Root Lifter

The Oil Treatment to End All

Mud Runners Beware!

That’s a Wrap!