Look Ma! No Gel!

I usually load my hair with a couple of conditioners each morning. Then on top of that I add Kinky Curly for definition. I recently added DevaCurl Set it Free to the mix. I would do ALL of this...and then add Aloe Vera Gel to my edges. NO DEALS.

I am a follower of Curly Nikki's blog and her hair is very inspiring. Aside from Henna, one other thing that I have learned from her that the LESS product (excluding your conditioners) the better. Being that I ONLY do conditioner washes 90 percent of the time and only use shampoo when I am performing a Henna Treatment or about to straighten...I really don't need all the gook in my hair.

So today I was brave. When I washed my hair this morning...I decided to ONLY put conditioner (DevaCurl One Condition and Pantene Hydrating Curls) and a leave in (KC Knot Today) in my hair. NO gel NO Kinky Curly Curling Custard. My hair was just as curly as it is with all the other gunk if not MORE.

My only complaint is...though I have definition and minimal frizz(thanks Henna) my hair is not as big as thick as I would like. My hair lacks volume. It is very little. I literally went in the ladies room took down my puff and SHOOK it. It was still small. Not sure why this is...Perhaps I should go back to weekly Henna treatmnents versus bi weekly? Did I make the switch too quickly? Who knows...I am going to go ahead and henna this weekend with a mix of Dulhan and Reshma. I am curious to see if maybe I am not getting the bulk because of Jamila. Stay tuned for my results.

All in all I think I will start just wearing my puff and curly styles with conditioner only. Tomorrow I am going to try using ONE conditioner only. I will more than likely stick with Pantene Hydrating Curls. My hair loves that stuff. Set if Free? I will only use that when I am twisting my hair. If your hair is thin...or lacks volume...you may not want to use this on a wash n go. This stuff made my puff more like a "poot" than a Puff. LOL Really soft...but REALLY shrunken. LOL So....no more Set it Free until I am in twists. The Set it Free along with Shea butter made my hair feel like silk.

Gelly Belly

So...lately I have been wearing either a puff...and most recently a baggied bun. My routine is very simple. When I am in a puff...I CW daily with a cheapie shampoo...and prepare my hair for a puff. When I am on a phony bun, I CW every other day and put my hair in a pony and add the baggy and the phony pony. One thing that I use for both...is GEL.
Back before I discovered the hair boards, I used Ampro's brown gel like it was going out of business. Well maybe a year or two ago, I discovered Fantasica IC Sparklites. This has been my holy grail when it comes to gel. It gives me GREAT hold, no flaking and it isn't hard as a brick either. Well last week I ran out my beloved Sparklites and decided to try one of my other gels (never tried benefit the counter). So here are my results:

Long Aid Curl Activator
Walmart (about 2 or 3 bucks)

I tried this gel on wet hair and then tied my hair down for the ride to work. This gel gave me GREAT hold. The only issue that I had with this gel was it left my hair feeling greasy and gummy. It was not hard mor crunchy...but VERY greasy and gummy.
I would ONLY use this gel as a last resort. If it does this in cold weather I am scared to see what it does in warm weather.

Smooth and Shine Curl Activator
Walmart (2 or 3 bucks)

I tried this gel and I LOVE it. It gave nice hold and was not at all greasy like the Long Aid. I did not even tie my hair down. I will DEFINATELT reuse this gel. The only downfall of this product was how small the jar is. But other than that...two thumbs up!

All in all...nothing has YET to touch my Fantasia gel. It still remains my FAVORITE and my holy grail. But it is good to know that I do have a back up.