You've retained about six (6) inches of length. That is some amazing progress! Congratulations on your success! Could you share or point me to your hair care regimen, please? I see that you did flat ironed hair to wash and go's . But I didn't see your products. Your length retention is phenomenal.
@Chicoro Thanks. I'm blaming you for unleashing the verbiage monster. I wouldn’t really say I did much to preserve my length at the end of the day. My usual regimen consisted of shampoo, condition, style and then sit under a hooded dryer.
One thing I do that might be a little different is that I double detangle. I section my hair in 4 and sometimes up to 8 sections while in the shower with conditioner in my head. I then detangle each section with a Wet Brush for thick hair. I go back over each detangled section with a Felicia Leatherwood brush before moving to the next. Sometimes I twist up those detangled sections, but most time I just leave my hair hanging.
The Felicia Leatherwood brush can really snap my hair off if I'm not gentle enough or take smaller sections. I kept getting cramps in my hand trying to gingerly yet effectively use it. So now I'm basically using the Felicia Leatherwood brush to crosscheck my detangling. If it can not glide through my hair, then my hair is not properly detangled enough. I recently switched to the Wet Brush paddle detangler. I say the bristle flexibility is between the original Wet Brush and the one for thick hair. The bristles are ever so slightly longer to penetrate my hair better but more gentle than the one for thick hair.
For most of the year, I did the regimen and used the products suggested by BGC to achieve wash and goes. This routine gave consistent results that could last a week and beyond. However, my hair stayed flat, took forever to dry and was super heavy. These products rinsed out easily. My only problem (which has been my prob from the beginning) is that UFD Curly Magic does not glide through my naked hair easily. So I have to take my time when applying it to my hair in BGC fashion. The toppers help me to rake it through my hair. UFD Curly Magic glides effortlessly over other products though. This routine calls for using a buff every night to preserve curls.
BGC Products
Shampoo:
-Kinky Curly Come Clean (clarifier)
-Malibu Undo Goo (clarifier)
-AG Balance (all purpose)
-Innersense Hydrating Hair Bath (moisturizing)
Conditioner:
-AG Boost
Hydrating Base Gel:
-Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic
Tertiary Gel for Frizz:
-Innersense I Create Hold
Topper Gel:
-Trepadora Papaya Slip
-Trepadora Bamboo Ginseng
When I veered from using BGC suggested products, I had to change up how I shampooed. Typically with a BGC regimen, I could use a moisturizing shampoo if I washed my hair multiple times per week. When I switched to other products, I had to use an all purpose for frequent shampooing. At the end of the day, I realized my scalp needs something more cleansing than a moisturizing shampoo. It "might" be better for my hair, but my scalp needs something stronger.
I find that polyquat dominant products leave a buildup that tangles in my hair after 1 or 2 uses. Some of those products are just hard to run through my hair in general. These products also don't have great hold and usually give me 2 to 4 days worth of a style. The pay off is that my hair dries significantly quicker, gives me better volume and feels lighter. So I had to use all purpose and clarifying shampoos more frequently even though I washed my hair more often than on the BGC regimen.
While I'm still on the subject of shampoo, its important for me to note that I should do it on a frequent basis for my scalp health. I've been pushing 7 to 10 days lately and that is actually too long. I've been on spironolactone consistently for several months now. It has greatly reduced the oiliness in my skin, but I shouldn't go longer than 5 days. By day 5, I can smell my scalp when I shake my hair and can feel oil on it. It is much better than it use to be. Instead of 3 days before my scalp looks like it's coated in solidified lard or ghee, it now takes 7 days. I also start getting dandruff by day 7 now.
I pull it into a puff when I don't have time or don't feel like washing my hair, but looks wonky hanging down. I use hair ties meant for thick and curly hair. They have a lot of give yet can contract around the puff nicely. FYI, a BGC wng does not make a pretty puff. My hair would be too stiff and the curls to flat. Any wash and go using Curls gels, KKKT+KKCC, The Doux Big Poppa and Mielle Honey and Pomegranate Coil Custard will transition into pretty puffs.
When not using gels, I used mousses and creams. There are several that I liked using as one and dones. I wish I spent more time finding great combos because mousse and creams/lotion can give chef kiss results. My favorite mousses were Miche Set and the one by Pattern Beauty. My favorite styling lotions were Mielle Rosemary Mint Daily Styling Cream and Miss Jessie's Feather Soft Curls.
For straightening, I used my Dyson with the comb attachment. It gets too hot for me and doesn't straighten my ends well enough. I used the Mizani Press Agent Line, The Design Essentials Agave Line, Olaplex Line and The Fine Haired Suggestions from the Blowout Professor. For my hair, I preferred using Olaplex and the Design Essential Line to straighten my hair. The products are heavy, but combat my frizz. I do want to mention that I asked Chris what would he suggest for my hair type. He said that fine coiled hair can be tricky. He suggested I use shampoo and conditioner for fine hair but a more heavy blowout cream like Olaplex 6 for the frizz. If I tried to get a week or more out of straight hair, I'd take head to his fine hair suggestion.
Next year I'm going back to my old favorite brushes (The Monroe Latina Envy, Marilyn Flatter Me Too and Denman D5 ) that are very hard to find these days. I miss blowdrying my hair and it be a wearable style. I also want to be more flexible with my hair styling. The longest my hair has ever been was by me straightening my hair every 5 days to once a week.
The biggest thing I noticed to prevent single strand knots was to not let my ends get undefined and frizzy before I washed again. Putting my hair in a puff and wearing a buff at night helped mitigate knots when I wasn't able to wash my hair but needed to. The same could said to prevent tangling at the roots.
I also should have kept a deep conditioner on a regular rotation instead of as needed. I started getting stretchy ends and noticed a little breakage in the past few months. Olaplex #3 fixed that right up. It could have been prevented if I used those type of products more regularly.
Overall, I shampooed, conditioned, detangled, styled and sat under a dryer. I used products with varying amounts of hold and washed when the hold and my scalp expired. I did the occasional treatment. I slept with a buff or on a satin pillow case nightly. I only trimmed twice this year. That was my simple routine.
-> Wearing wash n'gos to my goal length
. I also trimmed about an inch off all over.
