5 Ways To Increase Shine In Natural Hair

The science just isn't on our side. Curly hair isn't naturally shiny. Our curly strands just don't reflect light as easily as straighter hair.

*womp womp*

But that doesn't mean that your curls can't have a gorgeous glowing sheen--it will just take a teeny bit more effort! Here's 5 ways to get glossier hair in every step of your #washdayexperience regimen:

P R E - S H A M P O O   T R E A T M E N T

Before you hop in the shower, try an oil rinse. To apply the rinse to my scalp, I use a narrow tip applicator bottle (Like this one of these) then let it sit for a few minutes and rinse in shower. My favorite oil rinse has been this amazeball DIY Green Tea Infused Hair Oil.

P R E - C O N D I T I O N I N G

After you've cleansed your hair but before your deep conditioning session try a Clay mask. I discovered clay masks about a year ago (my super simple recipe is here) and they've made their way into my weekly routine. Clay masks are amazingness in a jar and the shine that your hair has afterwards is unparalleled. Masks are a little labor intensive so if you're pressed for time, try this Quick & Easy Clay Rinse. You'll still get all of the flossy shine!

D U R I N G   C O N D I T I O N I N G

I've made a habit of sealing my deep conditioner with oil. Simply work the conditioner through your curls, then apply a little oil to your ends. Cover with a plastic cap then sit under your hooded dryer for 20-30 minutes (or Deep Condition Overnight). This technique deeply moisturizes, softens your hair, and once rinsed gives your hair an incredible shine! My oil of choice is usually Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.

D A I L Y

I've found that keeping my hair moisturized on a daily basis is the best way to increase my healthy looking shine. Which is why I'm in lust with my DIY Moisturizer. The recipe's super nourishing ingredients like Aloe Vera Juice, Glycerin, and vitamin e oil keep my ends from drying out. My curls don't frizz and they stay well defined.

How do you get your hair glossy?

Besitos!
KLP

[Hairstyle] Curly Upsweep (Perm Rods) | #WashDayExperience

My natural regimen and my stretching-turned-transitioning regimen hasn't been all that different. Plus so far all of my favorite products since work like a charm! Thank ya Jesus! Here's how my #washdayexperience went:

1. Extreme Deep Condition- As I detangled my hair in sections, I applied Jessicurl Deep Treatment from root to tip then massaged in a little extra virgin coconut oil to seal the conditioner in. I covered with a plastic cap and sat under my heat cap again for about an hour. 
2. Air dry- After rinsing the deep conditioner, I blotted my hair with a cotton t-shirt, applied a little extra virgin coconut oil in sections then wrapped it in the t-shirt to dry a bit more.  
3. Leave-ins- My hair was about 80% dry when I applied a mist of Nexxus Humctress Luxe Leave In, Jessicurl Too Shea Conditioner and a dab of my hair butter then I set my hair on a mix of purple and white perm rods. I let them dry overnight. 

The Results:

My hair loves everything about Jessicurl Deep Treatment. It's crazy thick, dreamy creamy, and simply one of the most moisturizing deep conditioners that I've ever used. If they ever changed the formula, I'd cry. No seriously...I'd cry ugly Oprah crocodile tears. That's how much I love this stuff. 

I co-washed a few days before this #washdayexperience so I didn't shampoo. My scalp felt clean and my hair was actually well moisturized. I probably could have waited another day or two to wash but one thing that I've discovered since chopping is that my hair behaves a lot better when I wash every 3-4 days as opposed to washing once a week. I sorta knew this before I chopped but dealing with the tangling between all my textures just didn't make bi-weekly wash sessions it worth it. It seems to be a mortal sin to wash more than once a week around the healthy hair community but whatevs y'all. If it works---it works. If it doesn't---it doesn't. So far---it's working. 

I'm in love with the way that my curls turned out. The mix of purple and white rollers gave my curls dimension and a fullness that orange rods hadn't since I chopped. To style, I pulled all of the curls up and to right side then secured with a bunch of pins. Easy peasy!

How was your #washdayexperience?

Besitos!
KLP

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How To Flat Iron (Transitioning, Relaxed, or Natural Hair) | #WashDayExperience

I can't believe that it's been 6 months since the last time that I straightened my hair! I'm utterly flabbergasted. Once a upon a time, I used to flat iron daily---then I cut back to weekly---now I'm down to three times a year. I think that it's safe to say that my hair is benefiting from much less direct heat but I'm actually excited for the change!

Straightening my hair is a tedious process. So, I have a love/annoyed relationship with my straight hair. Detangling is most of the annoyance. I ditched my combs for finger detangling this year, so I find that when it's time to straighten, I have to combat tons of tiny single strand knots. I work slowly---probably toooooo slowly trying to be gentle and use a little less manipulation. It's definitely a 2-3 hour labor of love. Here's how I straighten my hair:

1. Pre-shampoo- I started by fully detangling using my fingers and slathering each section with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner. Pre-shampooing with conditioner elongates my curly roots which makes everything else on wash day easier.
2. Shampoo- Next, I hopped into the shower for 5 minutes to rinse the conditioner completely. I clarified with KeraCare 1st Lather Shampoo to remove build up and then once more shampoo with KeraCare Hydrating Detangling Shampoo to get my hair squeaky clean. Clean hair = light bouncy straightened hair.
3. Extreme Deep Condition- Next, I deep conditioned with Matrix Biolage Hydrasource Conditioner then put my hair into 6 loose bantu knots, covered with a plastic cap and let it sit for a few hours. In hindsight, I should have sat under my hooded dryer or heat cap to help the conditioner penetrate more effectively.
4. Leave ins- After I fully rinsed each section, I wrapped my hair in a cotton t-shirt to remove some of the water. Then I applied a little It's 10 Miracle Leave In then Chi Silk Infusion. Then I finished by cool air tension drying with my Solia Blower.
5. Flat iron- I coupled my Ferrum Iron with a Sedu Carbon Flat Iron Comb to do the comb and chase method as I flat ironed my hair in 1/4' sections. Two passes were enough to get my hair smooth and super straight. But it still took forever to do.

You can get the full details on how I flat iron my hair here.

The Results:
My hair has body and is soooo soft. I've never been able to say either in the past when I was flat ironing weekly.It's actually voluminous. And I LOVE IT! My bangs are still thriving hoovering between BSL and MBL. By my ends definitely took a hit from my detangling debacle a few months ago. This straightening session was totally bitter sweet.

I gave myself about an inch trim as I flat ironed and slightly rolled the flat iron around the ends for my feathered wavy Christmas Eve look. I promise length check pictures are coming down the pipeline. But now---it's time for me to go sing happy birthday to Jesus, celebrate, and enjoy my minions/hubby!

Merry Christmas chicas!

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[Hairstyle] Bouncy Curls Using Steam Rollers | #WashDayExperience

Between Turkey Day, my half-marathon training, getting sick, and trying to be fabulous for my 10 year high school reunion (OMG...I can't believe it's been TEN years since I graduated high school!), then doing it all over again, I've washed/co-washed my hair 3 times​ in 7 days!

I wanted big bouncy curls for my reunion but I knew that I wouldn't have time for either perm rods or my signature bantu knot curls. So I whipped out my steam rollers. I think that it's safe to say that I love these things---and Jessicurl!

1. Deep Condition- My hair was well detangled from my previous 2 co-washes, so I jumped right into deep conditioning. I applied Jessicurl Deep Treatment from root to tip then massaged in a little extra virgin coconut oil to seal the conditioner in. I left it in for about 5 hours. 
2. Detangling treatment- Then I rinsed each section. applied a dollop of Matrix Biolage Detangling Solution, worked it through my roots and rinsed.
3. Air Dried- I added a bit of Chi Silk Infusion to 80-85% wrapped in a cotton t-shirt.
4. Leave ins-I used Jessicurl Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner to moisturize and a dab of hair butter  to seal, then I blew out my roots with cold air to stretch it and set on Caruso Steam rollers for about 30 minutes.

Don't judge my bathroom selfe

The Results

Bantu knot-like curls! My hair felt super soft and well conditioned. I love the curl pattern and half way through taking down the rollers, I totally wished that I had more smaller rollers than the larger ones. Hmm...looks like I have something else to ask Santa for this year!

My besties

Every wash day, I'm reminded of how much my ends need a trim. I mean, when the heck was my last real trim? July? That's kinda sad. I totally know better than that. 

But trimming requires straightening and straightening requires 3 hours of devoted time with a flat iron. Ain't no body got time for that!

Oh and these are my day after bed-head waves. I didn't wrap, set, moisturize, anything. I am not a good role model. Do not try this at home. LOL. 

How was your #washdayexperience? Share the dets below!

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[Hairstyle] Messy High Bun + Oil Rinsing | WashDayExperience

Love simply does not express how much I enjoyed my hair last week. Steam Rollers are the bomb.com and my hair felt super strong yet still very moisturized. I wore my hair down for 2 days then in a low bun with a few curls to frame my face. For the first time in weeeekkksss I actually had fun with my hair! Even though I kinda suck at cold air tension drying my hair, I will admit that it was MUCH much easier to manage throughout the week and tossing in a few steam rollers took no time at all! #score! Here are a few ways that I styled my hair afterwards:

With my DIY Jeweled Headwarmer. Omg---My ears were sooo toasty! Plus it was super humid and my head warmer covered up all of the frizz. I love this thing! Want to know how I made it? Pep the tutorial here!

Yes---that is the same headband from my tutorial. Shh...Don't tell nobody! I love a good multifunctional hair accessory. I have A LOT of hair accessories. Probably too many for my own good. But I always end up wearing the same ones! #hairbloggerfail

Because my hair still felt amazing by the time that wash day, instead of the usual deep conditioning etc etc, I decided to just oil rinse. Okay---let me back track. This is what really happened: I'd planned on doing a real wash day, started applying coconut oil to my hair yada yada, then I realized that I had somewhere to be in 30 minutes. Yep. Hair slicked down with oil and somewhere to go. Total fail. So I jumped in the shower, rinsed thoroughly, then jumped out. To my surprise, my hair loved it! Here are the details:

1. Oil rinse- As I detangled my hair, I applied extra virgin coconut oil from root to tip in 6 sections. I let sit for about 5 minutes then rinsed with warm water.
2. Leave ins- I t-shirt dried my hair for 5 minutes, blotting each section, then applied Jessicurl Too Shea! Conditioner and just a dab more coconut oil. I quickly cool air tensioned dried the sections and pulled my hair into a high bun to dry completely.

The Results:
Oil Rinsing is pure genius! No doubt that I'll probably do it again for sure. The slickness of the extra virgin coconut oil provided slip to detangle and helped me remove all of the shed hair that I had. I love how my hair felt refreshed without my scalp or my hair feeling dry.



I'll probably wash my hair for real in a day or two. I don't really think that oil rinsing is a substitute for washing, but that it allows you to extend the days between washing. Because I gave the oil a good rinsing with water, my hair didn't feel crazy oily after drying. It actually felt even more moisturized and fluffy.




Now take a look at this cute-who knew that I could make something so easy look so intricate-bun! Once I figure out how exactly I did this---I'll totally do a tutorial. This #washdayexperience was filled with lots of firsts, oops, and accidents but no tears. woot!

Did you have any happy surprises during your #washdayexperience? We'd love it if you shared!

Besitos!
KLP

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[Hairstyle] Perm Rods + Tangles | WashDayExperience

 
I learned a lot about my beautiful multi-textured hair this week. 1. It's defiantly stubborn. 2. It's a bit bi-polar and 3. Without a good stretch on wash day---the rest of the week is miserable. I refused to repeat my mistakes from last week, so I broke out some old faithfuls from Jessicurl and dusted off my perm rods. Here's how my #washdayexperience went:

1. Pre-Shampoo- I slathered my hair in extra virgin coconut oil whilst I detangled. I put my hair in about 6 bantu knots to keep my hair sectioned.
2. Shampoo- with Jessicurl Cleansing Cream applied to each section.
3. Extreme deep condition- I deep conditioned with Jessicurl Deep Treatment on the length of my hair. Then I massaged my stands with extra virgin coconut oil, covered with a plastic cap and left it for a few hours.
4. Tea Rinse- using 1 black tea bag and 1 green tea bag steeped in 2 cups of water + 2 tbsp of glycerin.
5. Smoothing Treatment- with a large dollop of Matrix Biolage Detangling Solution.
6. Air Dried- I applied a bit of Chi Silk Infusion to 80-85% wrapped in a cotton t-shirt.
7. Leave ins-I used Jessicurl Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner to moisturize and the teensiest amount of Tangerine Vanilla Whipped Hair Butter to seal then set my hair on about 35 orange perm rods and left in overnight

It wasn't pretty for a while y'all. I had to cut out 3-4 knots. My nape was a tangled nightmare and suffered the worse of it all. Pre-wash detangling took about an hour vs my usual 15-20 minutes. I'm nervous that whenever I get around to straightening, I'm gonna have a janky hemline. *shudders* I'm still kicking myself in the butt.

There were a few tears shed and there might have been a few fudge bombs dropped. But, it all changed once I slathered my hair in Jessicurl Deep Treatment. Omgosh, this stuff is amazing. My hair simply soaked it up. I didn't use heat---I just let it sit for a few hours. And when I went to rinse---Ladies----we were back in business!

I still suck at installing my perm rods. Maybe I'm too meticulous---or maybe my fingers are still getting the hang of it all, but I feel like 1.5 hr installation time is ridiculous! I'm off to YouTube to find a quicker way! In the meantime---LOOK AT ALL THIS STUPID SHRINKAGE! Yes---I'm still amazed at how I go from MBL to barely even chin length overnight. Shrinkage is the devil!

It's pouring rain in my part of the world, so in a high bun all those curls went and I was on my way! Take a look at my roots---no gel, jam, or edge control. Glory be to perm rods for what they do to smooth my roots! And check out that silly straight end that never wants to act right! There's always one right?

I hope you had an amazing #washdayexperience chica!

Besitos!
KLP

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