I’m smiling in the above pic, because I finally got my hair to look the way that I wanted! Also, I promised a reader in the comments a few posts back, that I would try to figure out how to take pics of myself smiling without looking like a weirdo ;)! *lol*
WASH ROUTINE
Pre-Poo:
So, here’s how I got here. On Saturday morning, I pre-pooed with a mix of Aubrey GPB conditioner and Vatika oil. I finger-detangled my hair in 8 sections and twisted each section when I was done. Then, I applied Wild Growth Hair Oil (WHGO) to my scalp and massaged it in for several minutes (Ahhhhh, that felt good!). It took a good 1 1/2 to 2 hours to pre-poo given that I’d been wearing a progressively shrinking WnG all week. The worst sections were where the coarsest, curliest and finest of my strands met the straightest and thickest of my strands in the section above my nape. I think this is because this area experiences the most friction and movement as it rubs and bunches up against my neck and clothes.
Prior to pre-pooing. The curls are back maaaan!!
Womp, womp. There’s that pesky, straight nape again.
Aubrey GPB Conditioner & Vatika Oil pre-poo.
One side done.
Once I finished oiling my scalp, I secured the twists at my crown with a jaw clip, donned a baggie and then the Heat Therapy Wrap, which I left on for about 2 hours or so.
Shampoo:
Then, I hopped in the shower and shampooed with diluted DevaCare No Poo. However, the hair near my scalp was still very slick and oily from the WGHO :(. So, I diluted Aubrey Green Tea Shampoo, which is sulfate free but sudsing, and washed my scalp again. This is the second time I’ve used this shampoo and, unfortunately, I think it causes my hair to get matted and tangled. So, I don’t see it becoming a staple. I’m going to investigate the other Aubrey options to see if one of the other shampoos might work better for me as I would like to include more natural products in my regimen, if I can.
Conditioning & Detangling:
So, after shampooing, I began detangling with the Aubrey Green Tea Cream Rinse. But, after my second twist, I decided to switch to a thicker conditioner that I’d just picked up from Harmon a week or so prior: Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut. I had run out of Herbal Essences Hello Hydration (HE HH) during my last henna treatment and knew that a lot of people love this conditioner, plus it was super cheap … like, less than $2 a bottle. I LOVE the smell … like piña colada!! I applied about a palmful of conditioner to each twist and then proceeded to detangle. Ummmm … color me unimpressed with the slip. It was okay, but it definitely isn’t unseating HE HH.
After I finished detangling, which was no small feat, I rinsed the Suave Naturals Conditioner and then applied Aubrey Green Tea Cream Rinse as a final conditioner before rinsing with cool/cold water.
STYLING:
Leave-in:
After I hopped out of the shower, I released all of the twists and applied Sally’s GVP Infusium 23 Leave-in Treatment with a spray bottle. Then, I combed it through my hair with … wait for it … my shower comb! You know I’m not one for combs, but I was given the advice to comb my leave-in through my hair with a wide tooth comb long ago and it resulted in far less matted tangles on wash day. So, I decided to do it … this time. From now on, I think I’ll stick with thorough finger detangling. My curls looked so nicely clumped before I used the comb!
Styling:
Anywho, after combing through the leave-in conditioner, I proceeded to section my hair into a top front section, two sides in the front and two sides in the back. Then, I worked from the back to the front, making smaller sections and raking and shaking Lots of Curls gel mixed with Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter through them (see Ouidad’s Rake & Shake video tutorial here if you missed it last week).
I allowed my hair to air dry for a while. Eventually, I had to pineapple it with a satin scrunchy, while it was still slightly damp, for bed. I didn’t wrap the scrunchy at all, so it was very loose so as not to create a crease in my curls.
See, I tried styling into a side part ;)!
But, I didn’t like the way it looked. So I moved the part back to the center! *lol*
My damp, styled curls.
I slept without a bonnet on my satin pillowcase and the next morning, my hair was still damp in one section. There were a couple of small frizzy areas, so I dampened them with some more leave-in conditioner and applied a little more gel and butter. Once it was almost completely dry, I applied a little Aveda Brilliant Anti-Humectant Pomade to my hair by gathering it like I was going to make a low ponytail and smoothing the pomade down the length.
It was okay, but I wanted more volume. After seeing how my hair got bigger each day when I pineappled it, I figured that might be the way to “pump up the volume.” So, after running a few errands, I got home and put my hair up into the high ponytail again and left it that way for a couple of hours. Then, I released and … voilà! Bigger hair!
The pineapple seems to give my hair more lift at the crown to give me the fullness that I want, instead of flat head ;).
So, that’s my WnG. I hope to film it soon, but wanted to see how it went first before attempting to videotape it. Also, that would have added more time to the process and I was just trying to get it done ;)! *lol*
Anywho, I’m hoping that my hair will continue to shrink and grow every day like it did last week.
Welp, that’s it for this pic heavy post!
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You know what time it is!! What did you do with your hair this weekend?
hairscapades 
Great! WnG without some kind of manipulation is where I’m at too. I will definitely try pineappling several times instead of one when trying to create the desired effect.
Last night I did BnCs and will see how out turns out today. I meant to do TnCs, but it was midnight and apparently what my hands wanted to do trumped what was on my mind 🙂
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Shellz Love that smile! LOL
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This weekend I tried several differnt methods of styling. On friday I tried a wash and go using the Tamika’s method that she used at the meetup. I air dryied which took for ever, I ended up going to sleep with wet hair and when I woke it was still wet . I tied a scarf bow . (hated it) It was a shrunkin mess! Plus the curls were so tight I couldnt even put my finger threw it. So Sat I rinsed it out to try the high bun from Shanti ,Roundthewaycurls, on the curly nikki site. Epic fail, my edges wouldnt stay flat and i coulndt get the bun to look like hers but i just left it in for a day cause I was fed up. On Sunday I youtube several videos and decided to try a flat twist out I parted my hair and my scalp was flaky from the gel and leave in so I deciced to completly wash , deep condition . I put my hair in 8 flat twist with cantu leave in and vatika oil. air dryed and went to bed, in the morning before work released and Viola! More definition than my normal twist out, Im satisfied!
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This weekend I pre-pooed with EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), coconut oil and Jamaican black castor oil and let it sit over night. In the morning I used Trader Joe’s Spa shampoo which is sulfate free and diluted it with water, applied it to my scalp and massaged my scalp and hair clean. I then used Suave’s Humectant Conditioner to comb thru. Final rinse in cool water. My leave-in is KKKT (Kinky Kurly Knot Today). I then used Belengenza’s Taffy as my styling cream and let it air dry.
When my hair was completely dried which took a few hours I fluffed it a little and it was all good.
I love WnG’s because they are not as time consuming as other styling methods.
BTW…I am 19 months into my transition.
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Big and curly just like you like it. That’s great. it’s funny how you like your part in the center better and I like it on the side lol.
i also don’t like the Suave conditioners….none of them. I bought 3 or 4 different ones a while back and it was not impressive at all. I just use them real quick to rinse out. I don’t even bother with the detangling. They don’t work for me. I just don’t like to throw stuff away unless its harmful.
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Yay u did it nd it looks awesome, im happy u remembered my comment 🙂
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I like the smiling pics too Shelli…lol Your hair looks #awesome!
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oh and can’t wait for the vid to see how you mix the CD butter and gel…I got the gel at CVS and went to apply to ChloChlo’s hair and wasn’t feeling the feel of it…lol. I’m sure it’s user error!
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Same here!!
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Love the wash-n-go!!! I agree with you about the comb. I really liked how my curls looked when I used my hands. The comb made my hair stringy.
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Hi Shelli,
I hope you enjoyed your weekend. My weekend was pretty busy. Celebrating Father’s Day weekend with the husband and Father in-law. I cheated a little actually. I just shampooed with my Influence products. I used Vatika oil, Olive Oil Hair Cream to really saturate my hair with mositure. I did a quick medium twists in my hair and pinned it up. It actually came out pretty nice. Like you Shelli I have been trying to add only natural hair care products to my regimen only. I came across a website Nyenzo.com. They specialize in natural hair products. I plan to order a few products soon. I am so excited! Because i have been trying to find signature natural hair products for a while. I think I have found them. I am a little tired of trying product after product. I personally want to find products that work with out having to change up all the time. I am one of those no fuss type of girls. Have a wonderful week!
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You know, when I do an unexpected side-part, it always turns out better. It’s like you have to prep your hair to have a center part, but at the last minute you flip a section over to the side. Anyway, something looks different about your center part this time and I really like it! I wish I could pull of the wash and go but I hate detangling. =-(
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Gawgeous! Love the “pumped up” hair. And the side part is a beautiful change up. But it really looks great any way you style it. I’ve learned so much here and look forward to all the hair care info and encouragement you have to share with fellow naturals. Thank you!
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Thanks everybody!!! I will try to get back to all of your comments and reply, but wanted to know that I read every single word! I love to read all of your comments and the info that you share!! You guys rock:)!
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Video of the application? I can’t pull off the CDHHB mixed w/gel……I know it is operator error, so it would help to see how you are applying (even though you supplied the link, I’m anal that way) and, perhaps, most importantly, how much product you are applying.
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I’ll work on it Rhonda! It may not be a full WnG as the next two weekends will be busy for me. So, maybe I’ll just demonstrate it on a few sections of my hair.
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So accommodating…so thankful!
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Love your WnG Shelli! Your smile says it all.
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Awww, thanks lady:)!
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How do you avoid Fairy knots Shelli?!?!? WNG are the debil for me… I get the worst tangling and i can never maintain it. I’m sure you’ve addressed this in another post so feel free to redirect me.
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Hi Stephanie. I don’t have a post that I did on SSKs and, I don’t think that there is any way to avoid them entirely … especially with WnGs. So, I just try to keep my hair lubricated and I do Search & Destroys on wash day to cut off any that I see or feel. Prior to doing S&Ds, I just got my hair trimmed every 6 months to eliminate them. Seems this topic is coming up a lot lately, so I’ve been sharing a video from a post I did last year.
https://hairscapades.com/2011/09/06/goc-update-coilynp/
Also, Chys’ Curlz just did a post on oil rinsing after shampooing to help reduce/eliminate SSKs that can be a natural byproduct of WnGs.
http://chyscurlz.blogspot.com/2012/06/oil-rinsing-and-anectdote.html
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the wash n go looks great!
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Your hair looks very pretty in those above pictures. Whether you have the part in the middle or on the side, it really does fit your facial features :). I also came across this video that I thought would look great on you as well you have about the same hair textures. Youtuber “PGneiicey” and her video titled: Natural Hair | Flat Twist Out Tutorial
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She and her hair are GORGEOUS!! Oh, her hair looks soooo much prettier and thicker than mine! And, I can’t flat twist to save my life! I really need to learn how. I really couldn’t figure out what she was doing … like, I didn’t see where the hair she was grabbing was going. I also wasn’t sure how her hair was before shed did this? Did she have a blow out or did she stretch it first? I’ll have to see if I can find it in the comments, b/c I didn’t see an explanation in the description box. I definitely would like to try this though! Very pretty results!! Thanks for sharing Zyaran!!
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I’m a little late but, I recently stumbled upon pre-pooing with coconut oil and Aubrey’s GBP as well. I have been using a biotin shampoo by Jason, which is all natural, and I really like it. My hair was left really soft and after I applied Aubrey’s HSR and rinsed, it was very easy for me to detangle. If you are looking for another shampoo, I would suggest trying the one by Jason.
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