Tag: Naturally curly hair

2020-04-20 Hair 12 Comments

Scalp problems, seborrheic dermatitis & the curly girl method

curly hair scalp problems

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For the longest of time, I struggled with scalp problems. That also caused me to struggle with my curls, which I didn’t even realize until now. Suddenly my waves were not as curly as they used to be and my usually dry hair seemed to be waxy and shiny. Nothing was working and I was struggling with dry, oily, itchy scalp. And bad hair days. I feel like I was also losing more hair than usual.

I felt like a failure and a fraud with my horrible hair. Especially since my post about curly girl method and curly hair routine is still one of the most read post on this site. I couldn’t understand why suddenly the things I used to do for my hair didn’t work anymore.

After quietly suffering with it for several months, I finally realized something. I remembered hearing about this scalp eczema called seborrheic dermatitis and after reading about it online, everything made sense.

Seborrheic dermatitis & how I fixed my scalp and curl problems

[Note: I have not been diagnosed by a doctor and this is all based on my own research and experience.]

Seborrheic dermatitis is a very common skin condition that causes dandruff and over production of sebum. It might also have a little something to do with the curly girl method, since you’re not washing your hair regularly. That might allow the oils and natural yeasts to prolifirate in your scalp. (Source.)

Seborrheic eczema is also linked to acne, which I’m all too familiar with. Luckily right now my skin otherwise is in a pretty good shape.

Here you can see how my scalp and hair looked like at its worst. This was after my first wash with the ketoconazole shampoo. Hadn’t had that fresh and airy hair in months!

In my case, it’s like having all the scalp problems at once. I had dry scalp and dry dandruff. I also had oily scalp with this weird sebum-dandruff. A shampoo did nothing to it and even right after washing my hair my scalp felt flaky and oily. If I touched my scalp, my fingertips felt oily. I just couldn’t clean my scalp with a regular shampoo. I realized that it also affected my hair and curls, since the sebum got built up in my hair. No wonder my hair felt alien to me. Hair loss is not common with seborrheic eczema, but I’ve also had hair loss. It could also be hormonal in my case, though.

The best treatment for seborrheic eczema on your scalp is simple: wash your hair every day. UV-light also apparently helps, so all the more reason to love summer. Depending on the severity of your problem, you also need a special shampoo. I read that *shampoos containing ketoconazole are pretty effective, because they get rid of yeast, so I bought that.

And you know what? I felt like my problem went away with one wash! Already I felt the itching ease and my hair felt airy and voluminous again.

seborrheic dermatitis curly hair

My new hair routine

I’ve now been on my new hair wash routine for about a month and I can say that the problem is pretty much gone. I mean, I understand the condition is probably gonna stay with me, but I have it under control. It feels amazing. (IT FEELS AMAZING!)

I have used my ketoconazole shampoo 1-2 times per week as instructed. Other than that, I can use my normal shampoos. I try to wash my hair every day, but sometimes, if my scalp feels okay, I can get away with skipping one wash.

Besides the shampoo, nothing has really changed. I use my curly hair approved conditioners and gels. So if you have scalp problems, you can still take care of your curls! It just means washing your hair hair more often, which is a bit more work. That is why I don’t always feel like applying gel and I might just use shampoo and conditioner and call it a day. Currently just having clean hair feels amazing.

I’m so happy that I managed to find help for my hair problems. I’m so happy that I got my curls back too! It honestly felt like it did when I first started the curly girl method. I had curly hair! I had curls! It was the same excitement all over again.

I’m sure I’m not alone with my scalp and curl problems, so it felt important to share. Have you experienced something similar?

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2020-01-07 Hair 6 Comments

Curly Girl Method in a nutshell

 

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Every now and then people ask me tips and product recommendations for treating naturally curly and wavy hair. I’ve published this in-depth post about curly hair, but I wanted to make a new, shorter post. Because the routine for natural curls is very simple.

Here is the routine for naturally curly or wavy hair, AKA the famous Curly Girl Method, CGM, in a nutshell.

In the photos I have taken care of my wavy hair using these tricks. Before I started to take care of my curls, my hair looked something like this:

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Frizzy and somewhat straight. My hairstyle has always been very laid back and more often or not, I just like to keep my hair open. Now that my curls and waves are more defined, I feel like my hair looks nice, even though I don’t do much. Being on this method has also allowed me to grow my natural hair color back. When I dyed my hair blonde it was very dry (as you can see from the photo), but nowadays my hair is very healthy.

naturally curly hair diffuser

 

CURLY GIRL METHOD IN A NUTSHELL

  1. SHAMPOO.
    Wash your hair with a sulfate (Sodium Laureth Sulfate is the most common form) and silicone (usually ends with -cone) free shampoo. It’s more important that it’s silicone-free, so if your shampoo contains SLS it’s not the end of the world. Sulfates just tend to be quite rough and too drying for your hair and scalp. The shampoo should be gentle and moisturizing, because curly hair is naturally dry.

*Noughty Wave Hello Shampoo
*Briogeo Superfood Shampoo

  1. CONDITIONER.
    Apply a generous amount of conditioner to your hair and untangle. You’re not gonna brush your hair with a brush at all. The conditioner should be silicone free, because silicones can build up in the hair and weigh down curls. Rinse the conditioner off from your hair lazily – some if it should be left in the hair (especially if your hair is dry).

*Briogeo Curl Charisma Conditioner
very moisturizing and nourishing
*Briogeo Volume Conditioner
also moisturizing, but slightly lighter version than the Curl Charisma

Note: pretty much all Briogeo shampoos and conditioners are suitable for curlies.

  1. SQUEEZE THE WATER OFF.
    Squeeze the water off from your hair with upward movements.
  1. DRY BY SQUEEZING THE HAIR WITH A TOWEL AND PLOPPING.
    Dry your hair by squeezing it gently with a towel. You can also tie your hair up with a turban, that absorbs the water. For example Aquis hair towels and turbans are honestly the best, because they dry my hair 50% faster than a regular towel.

 

  1. GEL.
    Add curl gel to towel dry hair. This too you will scrunch in the hair with upward movements. If your hair got too dry and straight, you can take some water in your palms and squeeze the water in with the gel, so that you’ll here a  squishing sound.

*Ecostyler Olive Oil Gel
quite thick, good hold
*Briogeo Curl Charisma Curl Gel
lighter hold, very beginner friendly

  1. AIR DRY OR DIFFUSE DRY.

The most gentle way to dry your hair is to let it air dry. If you don’t have the patience, you can also use the Aquis towels and a diffuser.

And that’s the routine in a simple form! If you would want an even more simpler version, you can leave the gel out. Though gel does help the curl definition and gives good hold.

 

NOTES

Deep cleansing/clarifying

Before you start the routine you should shampoo with a clarifying shampoo, so that the hair is free from any product build up. You should also use a clarifying shampoo every once in a while, because other ingredients besides silicone can also build up in the hair.

Silk products for curly hair

Silk is the best fabric for naturally curly and wavy hair – and for all hairtypes. It’s super gentle, soft and doesn’t break the hairs. I use silk scrunchies and headbands (and I have a silk pillowcase) and they feel so lovely.

*LilySilk Silk scrunchie

 

 

 

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