THE NO-POO ROUNTINE...

For long-time CurlTalkers, “CG” or “no poo” has become a staple of their vocabulary. But many newcomers may need a crash course in what exactly this term—used as both a verb and a noun—means.

CG is a CurlTalk abbreviation for “Curly Girl,” a book written by Lorraine Massey and Deborah Chiel, which helps people embrace their natural texture. With that objective in mind, Massey describes a new and revolutionary routine to get healthy, well-behaved waves, curls and coils.

Although the very best way to do this routine is AFTER reading the book, we understand that many people just can’t wait another day because their hair is begging for help, so in order to make this easier here’s the basic guidelines of the routine:

1.Either eliminate or seriously limit the use of shampoos with sulfates.
2.Use a clear gel to help keep frizz away.
3.Handle the hair in a very gentle manner.

The premise is tri-fold:

•Most commercial shampoos contain surfactants that are too harsh for our hair and tend to rob our hair of moisture.

•Our hair tends to be more porous than straight hair, which makes totally rinsing out all traces of shampoo virtually impossible, and that residue causes frizz.

•Most conditioners contain mild surfactants that, paired up with a little manual friction, are capable of lifting off dirt, debris and excess oil from our scalp and hair.

To make a no-poo routine work, you should eliminate the use of most silicone's (or ‘cones for short) from your hair care routine because most ‘cones can only be removed from the hair with rather harsh shampoos. Washing with a conditioner while using them would cause them to quickly build up on the hair, which results in dull, matted hair and poor curl definition.

It is very important to choose a good conditioner for no-pooing. Here is what you should look for on the label:

•Emollients, which soften, smooth the hair and give it shine. There are hundreds of them, including such natural emollients as vegetable oils and nut butters. Widely used emollients include glycerides and liposomes.

•Proteins, which temporarily “repair” the hair and/or protect it. Occasionally proteins will build up on some people’s hair, especially on healthier hair. In this case, alternate with a protein-free conditioner. Examples of proteins include silk, soy, wheat, keratin or individual amino acids (components of proteins).

•Humectants, which absorb water and hold in moisture. They are absolutely crucial in a conditioner for curly hair. Panthenol, vegetable glycerin, sorbitol and honey are just a few humectants to look for on the label. Moisturizers soften and control to curly hair. Amino acids and aloe vera are two great moisturizers.

Here’s how to do a conditioner wash:

1.After wetting your hair thoroughly, pour a dime-sized amount of conditioner in your hand and, using the pads of your fingertips, apply to one spot of your scalp and massage well, just as you would with shampoo.

2.Repeat until you’ve scrubbed all over.

3.Rinse all the conditioner off with plenty of warm water, still gently massaging with your fingertips so the friction will dissolve any residue.

4.Pour more conditioner into your hand (sometimes another richer conditioner is necessary for this step), rub your palms together and apply over the length as you normally did in the past.

5.Try to detangle with your fingers or with a very wide-tooth comb.

6.For extra moisturizing, clip your hair up and continue with your shower, then when you’re done set the water as cool as is comfortable to you and rinse your head for just a second or two, gently squeeze the excess water off.

Clarifying

Sometimes residue from your gels, oils, etc. may not rinse off with water and conditioner and we get a little buildup. Very often it’s easy to notice right away that your hair feels “gunk.” But other times, hair just stops responding to the routine. It may begin to tangle easily or curls loose definition and shine. Clarifying will refresh them and usually bring the bounce back.  You can try ACV to aid in clarifying or any other natural clarifiers to may know of if you are strictly on the no -poo method...if not you can find sulfate free clarifiers or mild conditioner cleansers. ( I suggest stay far away from baking soda and lemon juice....to strong for our hair).

My thoughts

As of now I am co-washing, since I am not a heavy product user.   It's working out great...my hair and scalp is responding well.  However, I will be clarifying 1x monthly or as I see my hair needs it to remove any build-up.  I have since noticed my hair to hold moisture a lot better than when I was shampooing.

For a few weeks I had been using 'kinky curlys" come clean...let me say this stuff is strong (in my opinion) it states moisturizing I don't see it from my experience.  My hair hates this stuff, each time I used it it has left my hair hard, rough and dry.  To me its more of a clarifier it will do a great job at that but way to strong for my hair.

 Since, my experiment eliminating this product.  In the place of that when I need to use something a little more on my hair to remove some build up I have tried Darcy's botanical "Daily Cleansing conditioner creme"...this little number is working out great and doesn't dry my hair like KCCC. I feel this is all I will need to use when needed to remove any gunk from my hair ...especially since I've decided not to use any cones while on my  journey to co-washing.

I have a few reviews coming up on Hairveda's moist condition 24/7 daily moisturizing conditioner ( as a co-wash)....http://hairveda.com/condish.aspx

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Jessiecurl weekly deep conditioning treatment....http://www.jessicurl.com/Products-p-1.html#products=tab1&cleansing=tab0&conditioning=tab2&styling=tab0&accessories=tab0

You can also find it at curlmart here....http://www.curlmart.com/Jessicurl-Weekly-Deep-Conditioning-Treatment-p-106.html

I am currently using curls coconut sublime moisturizing conditioner, I like it ..  it does moisturize well  But it doesn't have enough slip for what I like my conditioners to have. Not a bad product at all ( other than that), you can find that here..
http://www.curls.biz/curly-hair-products/coconut-sublime-moisturizing-conditioner.html

As always I will keep you ladies posted......

                                                                                     ENJOY!!!