Strawbeary Den

In Search of The Unknown (A 3A Hair Routine)

As anyone who knows me closely is aware, I am A) over-fixated with my hair and B) devestated with the loss of Atlanta's silky smooth water.

The last month has been a trying time for many reasons, chiefly among them the absolute deflation of my curls. As with any actionable stressor, my solutions are attention and experimentation. So, I experiment with my hair.

Bill of Materials

All from the Shae Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus line:

  1. Curl & Shine Shampoo
  2. Curl & Shine Conditioner
  3. Curling Gel Souffle
  4. Frizz-Free Curl Moose Mouse Mousse

Yes, yes, I know Shae Moisture is too buttery and heavy for 3A hair, but I like it. My hair feels so hydrated, and you only need a little bit.

As for what each thing does:

  1. Shampoo -- cleanses your hair from all the product buildup. You're supposed to do this when you shower like ~ 1/wk.
  2. Conditioner -- helps your hair retain moisture (crucial for curls) but! It's very heavy, and too much of it will weigh down your hair (stopping curls at the root).
  3. Gel -- forms a "cast" around your hair that holds in moisture. Helps with curl definition and longevity. Very heavy.
  4. Mousse -- adds texture to your hair, which helps with volume and keeping curls from flattening against your head (especially due to weight). Forms a slight cast, and very light-weight.

The Old Routine

~ once / week ~

Get in the shower and wet your hair. Put a glob of shampoo on your roots and swish it around. Wait 2 minutes, then rinse it out. Then, put a glob of conditioner (3 pumps) on your roots (1 pump) and ends (2 pumps). Scrunch it in, leave for 3 minutes, and rinse it out.

Then, follow the daily routine.

~ once / day ~

At the end of your shower, flip yourself upside down (or as close as you can manage), and scrunch a glob of conditioner (2 pumps) into your ends. Rake it through your hair by hand, then scrunch until ringlets form. Then scrunch some more.

Get out of the shower (still upside down of course) and hobble toward a super smooth tee shirt that's waiting nearby. Tie up your hair.

After you finish doing your skincare, putting on clothes, and applying makeup, undo the tee-shirt-towel. Back-comb the first inch or so of your hair (starting from the face, toward the back of your neck) so that the front becomes really defined. Wait 4 minutes. Spray a little water, if the spray bottle cooperates. Then, flip upside down and scrunch for 3 minutes and 11 seconds - that is, the duration of the song BITE BACK! by SXMPRA.

Right yourself, arrange the curls in the front to form cute swooshy curtain bangs, hold them still with gel, and pray it isn't windy outside.

The Experiment

This routine stopped working as soon as I left Atlanta, and my hair became a heavy, flat, mess. It was really quite carpet-like. The goal of my experiment, then, was to un-carpet-ify my hair, and make it all bouncy and curly again.

To start, constants.

  1. The tee-shirt-hair-towel is a must. I hate the feeling of wet hair dripping down my neck, especially when doing skincare.
  2. The weekly shampoo and conditioner is a must, for cleanliness purposes. The amount is variable.
  3. My curls have to be combed daily or else they don't feel clean. Additionally, they can only be combed while wet and with conditioner in or else it'll be a (literal) pain.
  4. The front portion of my curls needs to be back-combed at some point. Otherwise, you can see the individual curl clumps/sets there, and while those are more curly, they're hard to style into bangs or really direct in any way whatsoever.

This leaves many, many independent variables. I tried writing them all out, but I ran out of single digits and opted to describe it as an open problem instead.

Approach

The two core questions here are:

  1. What products (and how much of each) ought I to put in my hair?
  2. At what points do I flip upside down and scrunch my hair into ringlets?

Question One was solved through directed experimentation. I tried putting more conditioner, in case moisture was an issue, and got flatter hair. I tried putting in gel, in case hold was the issue, and got even flatter hair. I tried putting in mousse, and that made it flat and icky both.

Then I started cutting things from the routine. I started washing out my conditioner after combing, and that led to frizz (a good sign! not moisturized enough but definitely not heavy). I then hit the midpoint at 1 pump of conditioner a day, and it was, fine I guess. Probably the closest thing I'd get.

Then! Then I added moose mouse mousse.

Mousse gave me a cast (good for hold) and volume (which I dearly missed) and was quite light on my hair. Mousse + lots of conditioner was too heavy. Mousse + little conditioner was perfect, especially if I sprayed down with water before adding it in.

Question Two (when to scrunch) followed naturally. Once in the shower after combing out my curls. Once after back-combing, to set in the mousse and hold the final style.

The Solution

~ once / week ~

Wet your hair. Then, shampoo on the roots (2 min, rinse it out) and conditioner on the ends (1 pump, 3 min, rinse it out).

Then, follow the daily routine

~ once / day ~

Flip upside down and do a glob of condiitoner (1 pump) into the ends. Rake it through your hair by hand, then scrunch scrunch scrunch.

Tie up your hair in a smooth tee shirt, and do all your other routines. Then, let it down (while upright), backcomb, and hold it for 4 min.

Once the front section has risen like dough, spray some water to prepare for mousse, flip upside down, and put in some mousse (shake before using! 3 pumps). Scrunch it in, then scrunch some more for 3 minutes and 11 seconds. Since I'm at home, no music for me.

Right yourself, arrange into cute swooshy curtain bangs, and off to work!

Song of the Post

Danse Carribe (Fingerlings 4) by Andrew Bird. It's the opening track to BBC / Masterpiece's 3 hour rendition of Little Women and it's dear to me.

Love y'all! I'll be back with you soon.