Curly Girl 2.0

So, a few years ago, I read the book Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey.  Like any girl with stick straight hair, I wanted mine curly.  When my daughters were born, I hoped and prayed that they would get to have curly hair like my husband.  Much to my surprise, they got most of his color and my texture.  As they grew, I noticed there was a marked difference in the texture of their hair.  Pea has more corse texture, Kate is glass smooth.  Both have the same color, and both have waves when they brush it out, and Botticelli ringlets when they let them dry without fussing.

Since I wanted to encourage their curls, I got the book from the library and read…then, I thought..I could try to no-poo.  (This is cleansing without shampoo.)  I’ve been blessed with salt and pepper hair my whole life, and sometime in my mid 30’s it became more salt than pepper.  With the white hair, comes texture issues and crazy hair behavior.  I gave it a shot, but since I was going through my shortest hair phase, it didn’t work so well for me.  My style demanded daily blow-drying, lots of gel, wax and spray.

Last year I decided that I wasn’t grooving on my short hair anymore and began to grow it out.  It went from being short, sassy and sexy to feeling gruff and masculine.  I know it has to do more with my personal growth than the cut, because I’ve been seeing the same stylist for yeeaaaars now.

Now that my hair falls in layers around my nape, and I no longer blow-dry daily…forgowing spray and wax most days, I’ve revisited the no-poo method.  I went longer between washes, and then I found a wonderful Etsy Seller, LeKenda, at NBD Cosmetics that talked to me about her co-wash method and product.  I have been using the Sunflower Cleansing Conditioner for 2 weeks now and I really like the way my hair feels and lays.  I still have (mostly) stick straight hair, but the white hair behaves more and the fly aways are less.

I am a bit picky when it comes to smells, and I tend to lean towards a lavender scent for most of my body products on a daily basis.  So, I googled the lavender refreshing spray mentioned in the Curly Girl book, and found this page of recipes.  I’m going to have a go at making my own Cleansing Conditioner this week using lavender as the scent.  If I can manage this, I will be able to turn my daughters’ on to the no-poo method and encourage more curl and less fuss.