Di Dumbs It Down

Pregnancy is a magical period of time. Your body actually grows another human with their own DNA, personality and bright future. For nine months, you have two (or more, with multiples!) hearts beating in harmony within your body. Every action you make can impact this vulnerable creature. Your body changes drastically, which is both beautiful and challenging. Your hair grows thick and shiny. Your skin sometimes looks better than ever, but sometimes teenage-like acne makes an unwelcome return. Labour and delivery are the hardest physical activities you’ve ever dreamed of doing. The pain you endure, whether vaginally or by Caesarean, a re unrivaled. Your beautiful, perfect angel arrives in your arms and your heart is suddenly beating outside of your body. This extension of you becomes more important than your own comfort or your own life.  And you may not have noticed right away, but your hair starts to change again. It falls out, seemingly, in clumps. It’s dull, tangled and mat...

Flax seed gel is a DIY, homemade and CHEAP hair gel. It is all natural and organic. You can add extra ingredients to it for extra hair care. It has a bit of a snotty consistency, so be prepared for that. Benefits Gives good hold Hair is shiny, soft and moisturized Doesn't dry out or damage hair Defines curls and clumps Cheap! (it costs pennies per batch) Healthy! It contains Omega 3, Vitamin E, copper, magnesium, folate, B6, zinc, potassium, and protein... which the hair loves! This maybe $2 from Bulk Barn? And it will last forever. How to make it Boil two cups of water Add 1/4 cup of whole flax seeds (can be golden or brown) Boil for a few minutes Once foam thickens at the surface, immediately remove from heat Strain into a bowl (through clean pantyhose, cheesecloth or a metal strainer) Keep refrigerated (because it's all natural and has no preservatives, it will only last a few days on the counter and one to two weeks in the fridge). ...

Praying hands is a good way to apply product to your hair. You know what it looks like when you pray and your palms touch each other? Now, put your hair between those hands! Apply your conditioner (and afterwards, styler) into one palm, rub your hands together and hang your hair over your head, or to each side. Now, place your hands together with your hair between them, and rub the product on, from the root to the tip. Then you can finger come to detangle, STC, etc. Why praying hands? It helps apply product more evenly across your entire hair, it smooths your hair and reduces frizz. VIDEO HERE.

Did you know that curly hair is drier than straight hair? Regular conditioner coats and sits on the hair, so every now and then, us curlies need something more intense to penetrate the hair shaft. Regular deep conditioning is a necessity for curly hair. It nourishes, strengthens and moisturizes curly hair. It also improves the texture, reduces breakage and improves the hair's health. It also helps improve the hair's elasticity, which means it is more flexible and can stretch more before it breaks. Deep conditioners can be specially formulated, a boosted regular conditioner or a DIY concoction. How long? How often? If your hair is extremely dry or damaged, you should condition twice a week. To maintain good hair health, once a week or every two weeks may suffice. Leave the deep conditioner in anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour (20-30 minutes seems to be the consensus as some curly bloggers are saying that it won't work anymore after 20 minutes) before rinsing. ...

I wish I could tell teenage Di back in the '90s that she didn't need to walk around with rock hard hait. I wish I could tell her that some simple scrunching after her hair dried would create beautiful, bouncy curls. SOTC = Scrunch Out The Crunch After washing and styling, you may notice your hair harden as it dries. This is known as the "cast," or the "crunch." DO NOT TOUCH YOUR HAIR UNTIL IT IS 100% DRY Benefits Your curls are actually setting under the cast. The cast protects your hair from frizz, and helps your curls last longer. How to SOTC To break the cast, you can use your hands (dry, with lube - yep, that's a thing! Or with an approved oil. I recently discovered Righteous Roots Oil and it's amazing for SOTC), or a cotton t-shirt. Flip your hair, hold your curls and squeeze them in your hands. Squeeze and scrunch from the tips up to the roots, or smooth with praying hands from the roots to the tips - or combine! The goal is to bre...

You may have seen the acronym "STC" floating around the curly community, and not have any idea what it means. It stands for Squish to Condish . It is a MUST for helping your curls retain water - thus, moisture and hydration. So what does it mean? Squish your hair as you rinse out your conditioner, so the conditioner seeps into, soaks and saturates your hair. Why should I STC? We tend to rely on our conditioner to hydrate our hair and our curls. But, you can use an entire bottle and get poor results if you don't use water effectively. You want to get as much conditioner as you want / your hair needs into your hair, so that it stays hydrated and you get luscious clumps. Water is what hydrates our hair! Conditioner is the tool to lock it in. When do you STC? After you wash and condition your hair. Steps 1. Wash your hair. Rinse. 2. Condition and detangle. Rinse. 3. Keep your head down so that your soaking wet hair hangs upside down. 4. Apply more conditi...

A clump happens when your individual hairs and curls form and flow together into one big curl. They look like thick, juicy ropes. There are many benefits to creating clumps, especially for Type 2 (Wavy) and Type 3 (Curly) curls. Clumps give you thicker curls, and less frizz. Clumped curls look healthier and shinier. Plus, it stays more still while drying. Unclumpped curls can look stringy or frizzy. Think angel hair pasta versus fusili. How to Create Clumps After you have washed and conditioned your hair, keep it flipped over your head. Make sure it's soaking wet. Use your fingers, a wide toothed comb, a Curl Keeper Flexy Brush or a Denman Brush to separate your hair into sections (I aim for 5-10) While your hair is still wet, put your product (gel/cream/mousse) in the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together and coat each clump from root to tip. Kind of like milking a cow. Squeeze and squish each clump (we will talk about these techniques in future ...

Plopping is just a gross term for an effective way to get excess moisture out of your hair. We don't use traditional terry cloth towels (you know, the only ones you really see out there) when we follow the Curly Girl Method. Did you know that towels can break your hair, causing frizz? So, instead we "plop" our hair by wrapping it on top of our heads with a cotton tshirt, cotton leggings or a microfiber towel. How to Plop in a Cotton Tshirt 1. Do this after you wash your hair. you may squeeze out excess water first. You may add product first, or after your plop. Try each way to see what works best for you. \2. Lay tshirt onto your bed. 3. Flip your hair upside down. 4. Lower your hair onto the shirt. 5. Roll the bottom of the shirt up toward your forehead. Then wrap it around the nape of your neck. 6. Wrap the top part of the tshirt around the top of your head and hold both sleeves. 7. Stand up, wrap sleeves around your head and tie them together. ...

Feeling greasy? Sulfate is silicone's partner in crime. Many shampoos have it, which makes cowashing/using a low-poo an easy choice for me. So, silicone has coated your hair, preventing moisture from getting it. Sulfate removes silicone, but... What else does sulfate remove? Your scalp's natural oils. Then, your scalp works on overdrive to replace the oils - often, overproducing! This is why you may feel you need to wash your hair every day ( grease) It's a vicious cycle. Shampoo to beat the grease... when shampooing creates  the grease. Other than your final wash, steer clear of sulfates. Avoid SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) like the plague for a healthy scalp! Conditioners have cleansing ingredients. Sulfate-free shampoos exist too (known as low-poos)

Silicone is an ingredient found in many conditioners and hair products to coat your hair shaft. Giving it shine, smoothing frizz and providing a protective barrier from heat (hair dryers, curling and flat irons, etc). So, why is it bad? Because silicone forms a barrier on your hair, it actually locks moisture out. Your thirsty hair is trapped in the silicone barrier, and the only way to wash it out is with sulfate. Curly hair needs hydration. Silicone prevents hydration.  I can't stress enough that curlies need to kick silicone to the curb. Silicone is a substance that coats your hair and protects it from heat styling. It also gives a false impression of healthy, shiny hair. But the hair trapped under the silicone barrier is thirsty and dehydrated. Once you remove the silicone, you can bring hydration back to your hair and optimize your curls. Avoid ingredients that look like this: methicone, phenyltrimethicone, dimethicone, cyclomethicone, dimethiconol.... and an...

Cowashing is short for Conditioner Washing Which means... washing your hair with conditioner! That's right. You can use a Curly Girl (CG) approved conditioner (no sulfates or silicones!) to wash you scalp and hair. Why is that? There are cleaning agents in your conditioner. Really! But even though conditioner has cleansing agents in it, you can't just suds it up with a few quick rubs as you would with a sulfate-rich shampoo. To clean your hair, you gotta work! The cleansing ingredients, plus your manual labour, work in tandem to clean your hair without stripping your scalp of its natural oils. Step One Apply a generous amount of conditioner to your scalp Step Two Rub and scrub every square inch of your scalp. Rub your fingers in circles all over your scalp for at least two minutes - ideally, five. Rub your scalp until your arms hurt! Run your down your hair as well. Step Three Rinse completely and continue to rub your scalp and your hair as you rinse. This gets i...

These are the steps you follow when you follow the CGM.... Step One: Final Wash This step is very important! Your hair may be full of silicones, waxes and other nasty fellows that don't allow moisture to penetrate into your hair. We want to get rid of them so we can rehydrate your very thirsty hair. For this, we need to use a shampoo with sulfate in it (sodium lauryl sulfate or SLS is the main one). Check the ingredients of your current shampoo. If it has SLS and is silicone-free, go for it. Many baby shampoos also work well. Once again, check the ingredients list for sulfate if you're not sure. * Controversial * Dish soap is easy as you already have it at home. Dilute it with water as it's super harsh. Dish soap (I used Blue Dawn) is a contentious issue in the hair community. Whatever you use, RINSE! Step Two: Condition the Heck Out of Your Hair You know how the label on the conditioner bottle always says, "use a small amount?" Forget that. Apply a ...

Do you have curly here? Stop right there! Hi! I've been following the Curly Girl Method, or CGM, for more than two years now. When I first started, I did not have a clue what the many acronyms, terms and overall jargon the other curlies were going on about in blogs, on Instagram, or in the Facebook groups I joined.  With this blog, I'm hoping to: Simplify the terms and concepts and help anyone new on their journey Convince anyone on the fence about starting to, you know, start it Shine a light on this to my friends and family who must think I'm craz Each post will answer a simple question about the CGM or taking your curly hair back. Please feel free to ask me any questions on concepts that may have been confusing you, or if you need me to clarify my posts. After all, I want to be there for you to help you through this confusing hair journey!  Buckle up! We're in for a wavy, curly, kinky coily ride!

The Curly Girl Method, or CGM, is exactly that: a method, or a regime. CGM is geared toward people with curly hair. Basically, cut the sulfate, silicone and heat out of your hair care regimen. This means cleaning your hair with conditioner (cowash) or sulfate-free shampoo (low-poo). You may find this concept strange at first. That's okay! (Don't wash my hair?! But, it'll get greasy! We aren't supposed to apply conditioner to our roots! Basically every commercial and bottle says so!). I'm hoping that this little series helps you achieve your hair goals as we go along. I want to make the instructions basic and to the point. I don't want to make it more complicated and overwhelming than it is already perceived to be!