I finally colored my hair. And I did a curly set for an event this week. I'm out of practice so I will need to do a few more to get back in the swing of things. I used up the last of my Jello-Shot. I am going back to ICH and my stylist gave me samples of ICV to use for this VA humidity. I will play around with those before I buy anything else. If I can get ICV and ICH to work together, I will just stick with those. If not, I plan to try the Trepadora Bamboo.
I will get more serious with my sets now that the weather is warming up and I will be outdoors more. Now, I can set in the morning and air dry. I'm finding no matter how bad my set looks initially, if I just shake my head really hard my curls clump well enough to wear and as my hair dries my hair draws up a bit and you can see the shape. But I will be working on my technique so I don't have to do this and can get some hang time.
Going to get back to my 2x a week set. Sundays, I will focus on getting a wearable set. Wednesdays, I may gel and put it right into a puff, which will be quicker.
As far as retention since January I see it more in volume than in hang time. What I notice is that with the top hanging down further my different sections are starting to blend to give me a better look. I have 7 more weeks before my next stylist visit. I will just get my ends clipped and wait until September for a shaping.
Nothing amazing happening but feel like I'm on the right track. My curly set is coming along and my puff is coming along for a double win.