Sweetyb
Active Member
Since this summer, I have been on a mission to bring out curl, or 'coil', definition in my hair. I tried all sorts of things, like slabbing different types of gel in my hair, condition washes, not combing my hair, moisturizing products with a little slip in them, and most of all, trying to find a curl/coil defining technique for my type of hair.
After about a month+ of experimenting and staying away from a comb, I was able to bring out the coils in my hair. If you know what a pen spring looks like, those were formed all over, but not completely, throughout my head. I think I have finally achieved every experiment I have wanted to do in order to learn more about my hair texture.
-I was able to do this by massaging a moisturizing conditioner through clean, but not stripped, hair. I used mostly my fingers to detangle and the massaging motion helped to form the curls.
- This didn't happen immediately. It took a few conditioner washes and having my hair looking kinda funny between washes to get the coils to begin their formation. I would start to feel the coils up and down my hair with my fingers.
- I tried staying away from a comb for a good month, but possibly used a couple times to pick out the ends or so. I stayed completely away from my Denman brush.
- I shook my hair (like for a shake n go) while rinsing out the conditioner, using my fingers at the same time. If the conditioner was pretty light-weight (ie. Suave M&H), I tried leaving it in. It sometimes feels thick or sticky afterwards though, but I think it worked as if I had used a gel in my hair.
- After, I always smoothed a moisturizing conditioner with slip in it through chunks of my hair and let it airdry. Sometimes I would use a Pantene leave-in spray as well. I experimented with atleast 7 types of hair gels (each at different times) to see what the coils would look like afterwards. Some required smoothing throughout the hair, some were spray gels that are spritzed onto the coils and 'freezes' them. Sometimes I slicked some oil through them.
I always slicked it back into a pony or a puff. The end result is what looks to be a fluffy fro with tight coils sticking out of it. I have fine hair, so I'm sure those with thicker strands than I would create sharper, more defined and less fluffy, coils. I loved it because it was something unique to my texture. I enjoyed playing with them, like tugging on the ends while studying... I know, HIF disease. I just feel like I've discovered much more of what my texture is all about and what it's capable of doing.
Because it's almost winter, 2 wks ago I detangled all of these out of my head--not a pretty process! The downside to wearing your hair in such a way when your hair is 10"+ like mine is that if you wear it for too long, the old shed hair stays in the coils. 4b coils are tight, so shed hairs won't just slip out like 2c curls, nor can they be raked out with your fingers like 3c curls. If you keep it in long enough, I'm sure the coils will start to matt, because you're not combing out the coils. My ends were tangling like crazy when trying to comb these out. It wasn't until the 2nd wash that my hair was fully detangled. With my length of hair, I won't want to try this too often, or even leave my hair in this state at all (only because my goal is to grow my hair long, otherwise I'd chop it off and keep the coils /images/graemlins/wink.gif ).
* If my hair was shorter, I would definitely let my coils form, and not comb out my hair into a fluffy fro. I encourage all TWA's to try this with their hair as a way to learn more about what your texture can do. Experiment like crazy while your hair is still short. I see a lot of the 3's do it and the coils look lovely on you.
* This may not work for your hair if for instance it has been damaged by any processes, such as over-combing or stretching the strands of your hair to its limit, frying the hair, or any process that may have destroyed or altered your texture of hair. Although I've stayed away from direct heat for 4-5yrs now, I noticed it took a lot to turn the top of my head from fluff to some-what coils, because I constatly brush the top of my head when styling with my boar brush. So I'm sure that's stretched out my coils, making them appear fluffy.
I hope everyone else who is in search of what their hair texture can do is able to find out through experimenting with their hair, and a lot of patience.
After about a month+ of experimenting and staying away from a comb, I was able to bring out the coils in my hair. If you know what a pen spring looks like, those were formed all over, but not completely, throughout my head. I think I have finally achieved every experiment I have wanted to do in order to learn more about my hair texture.
-I was able to do this by massaging a moisturizing conditioner through clean, but not stripped, hair. I used mostly my fingers to detangle and the massaging motion helped to form the curls.
- This didn't happen immediately. It took a few conditioner washes and having my hair looking kinda funny between washes to get the coils to begin their formation. I would start to feel the coils up and down my hair with my fingers.
- I tried staying away from a comb for a good month, but possibly used a couple times to pick out the ends or so. I stayed completely away from my Denman brush.
- I shook my hair (like for a shake n go) while rinsing out the conditioner, using my fingers at the same time. If the conditioner was pretty light-weight (ie. Suave M&H), I tried leaving it in. It sometimes feels thick or sticky afterwards though, but I think it worked as if I had used a gel in my hair.
- After, I always smoothed a moisturizing conditioner with slip in it through chunks of my hair and let it airdry. Sometimes I would use a Pantene leave-in spray as well. I experimented with atleast 7 types of hair gels (each at different times) to see what the coils would look like afterwards. Some required smoothing throughout the hair, some were spray gels that are spritzed onto the coils and 'freezes' them. Sometimes I slicked some oil through them.
I always slicked it back into a pony or a puff. The end result is what looks to be a fluffy fro with tight coils sticking out of it. I have fine hair, so I'm sure those with thicker strands than I would create sharper, more defined and less fluffy, coils. I loved it because it was something unique to my texture. I enjoyed playing with them, like tugging on the ends while studying... I know, HIF disease. I just feel like I've discovered much more of what my texture is all about and what it's capable of doing.
Because it's almost winter, 2 wks ago I detangled all of these out of my head--not a pretty process! The downside to wearing your hair in such a way when your hair is 10"+ like mine is that if you wear it for too long, the old shed hair stays in the coils. 4b coils are tight, so shed hairs won't just slip out like 2c curls, nor can they be raked out with your fingers like 3c curls. If you keep it in long enough, I'm sure the coils will start to matt, because you're not combing out the coils. My ends were tangling like crazy when trying to comb these out. It wasn't until the 2nd wash that my hair was fully detangled. With my length of hair, I won't want to try this too often, or even leave my hair in this state at all (only because my goal is to grow my hair long, otherwise I'd chop it off and keep the coils /images/graemlins/wink.gif ).
* If my hair was shorter, I would definitely let my coils form, and not comb out my hair into a fluffy fro. I encourage all TWA's to try this with their hair as a way to learn more about what your texture can do. Experiment like crazy while your hair is still short. I see a lot of the 3's do it and the coils look lovely on you.
* This may not work for your hair if for instance it has been damaged by any processes, such as over-combing or stretching the strands of your hair to its limit, frying the hair, or any process that may have destroyed or altered your texture of hair. Although I've stayed away from direct heat for 4-5yrs now, I noticed it took a lot to turn the top of my head from fluff to some-what coils, because I constatly brush the top of my head when styling with my boar brush. So I'm sure that's stretched out my coils, making them appear fluffy.
I hope everyone else who is in search of what their hair texture can do is able to find out through experimenting with their hair, and a lot of patience.
