the Gerber baby is back!

The last few days have been quite exciting...remember when my hair was shorter & I used to always talk about my curls this, my curl pattern that, oh my cute spirals/springs/coils? It's been a long time since I've seen any of that and I wondered if it would ever be my circumstance again.

Lo and behold.....the curls have returned!

This is what I'm doing these days:

I am limiting co-washes to once or twice a week now. Instead, when I need to cleanse my hair and scalp, I'm doing the baking soda rinse (see below for recipe). It gets everything clean & rinses out the product without being harsh or drying, with the added bonus of making my curls go *POP*!

I have FINALLY figured out that I don't need handfuls of product in my hair. So I have gone back to using MotownGirl's L-IC (see below for recipe). Turns out using a nickel or quarter sized portion goes a long way. And it also doesn't result in the white-head that was happening when I was slathering goo-gobs of the stuff all over myself every day.

I apply the L-IC differently now too. Instead of the aforementioned slathering, I work it around in my hands and only put on what's on my fingertips. Of course what's there doesn't stay for long so then I rub my hands together again to redistribute and go for again, gently, with my fingertips. It helps to control how much product goes on as well as where it goes. It also helps me to touch & manipulate the hair less while it's wet, so that I don't end up with a funky looking fro.

If I feel like I need some additional product or moisture or whatever during the initial styling process, I've been occasionally using either a finger full of the Cantu Shea Butter L-IC or a dab of Herbal Essences None of Your Frizziness Conditioner. If moisture is needed during the day, I spritz with (a lot of) water or (a few squirts of) water/glycerin mix (15:1).

My hair has been full and moist and soft and I really hope it lasts. Oh, and I got this style idea from one of my YouTube girls (Check out nappygungun's "Going To School" vid). I know there's nothing innovative or new about it, necessarily. I just always seem to draw a blank on what to do when I take the twists down.

So here's my most recent pix. All of them should be clicked on and looked at in the giant size so you can really see those curls. Even my "massa" part is starting to curl up a bit!








BAKING SODA RINSE

1 tablespoon Baking Soda
2 cups Warm Water


MOTOWNGIRL'S LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER

1 cup thick, heavy conditioner
1/8 cup oil (I used mostly coconut, then a splash of olive)
1 tblsp Vegetable Glycerin
1 tblsp Silk Peptide Powder