curly hair

Since I quit the shampoo and went silicone free a few months back, I've been enjoying well defined curls and hair that feels truly moisturised and healthy. The past few days have involved a lot of arrangements, running around, and not enough time for air drying - my hair takes 4 to 5 hours to fully dry, and I've just not been able to find it this week. So I broke out my hair dryer and prepared to do battle.

Ordinarily, blow drying my hair takes about 45 minutes, by which stage I've usually given up attempting to get it sleek, and settled for roughly straightish hair (with a LOT of body) and very achey arms. This time, though, I found that my hair was a lot less puffy after blow drying, and it only took me 20 minutes or so to get it into a vaguely sleek state. All this, with just a small amount of Naked silicone free serum. This is a definite improvement, and a very unexpected bonus.

Please ignore the fact that my second photo is so badly focused. I'm not great with a camera, particularly after an evening at the pub!

The left photo shows my hair before I started a shampoo and silicone free regime. The right photo is after about 5 weeks of using nothing but silicone free conditioner and styling products on my hair.

Aside from the main lighting, colour and focus differences, I think that the main difference is that my hair is more curly than it was previously. Before, my curls were concentrated mostly around the back of my head, with the front parts containing a mix of loose curls and waves. After skipping the shampoo and silicone, even the front parts of my hair are curly, particularly in the mid-lengths.

Frizz wise, there doesn't look to be much of a difference. However, the right hand photo was taken after coming home from a night out in London - a very windy night at that. So the fact that the level of frizz there is comparable to the left hand photo, which was taken after a wash and airdry entirely indoors, is a good thing in my book.

I'm pleased enough with the differences in both the feel and look of my hair that I'm going to continue this regime indefinitely.

Last month, I decided to make a radical change in my haircare routine and ditch shampoo and silicones, which in theory would give me softer, less dry hair, with better curl definition. It's now been four weeks since I washed my hair with shampoo - and I'm very impressed with the difference.

My hair is no longer particularly dry; it feels very soft at all times. My curls are much more defined than they ever have been, and even look more ringlet-y than they did before. And frizz? I only really get a little bit of frizz on the second day after washing now.

Two things thus far have convinced me that I'm on to a good thing: firstly, my recent sun-and-sea holiday. Spending most of the day in the sun, in the sea or the pool for a week usually leaves me with hair like straw. Washing my hair every evening with conditioner prevented the damage.

Secondly; I had my colour done very recently. My hairdresser said that she could feel the difference in my hair, that it was smoother and less dry. Since she's been my hairdresser for about 7 years, I'm taking that as a sign of a tangible result.

The only downside I've found is that my roots have a tendancy to get oily slightly quicker than before. Since I previously only washed my hair twice a week, I can cope with a slight increase of co-washing 3 -4 times a week.

As I've just had my colour done, I'm sporting a semi-straight blow dry, so no pictures this week, but I promise to take some next week. So far, so good!

As part of my new shampoo-free routine, I had heard a lot of very good things being said about Boots Essential Curl Creme, which is a silicone free styling product which apparently can be used on wet or dry hair. Last time I was in Boots, I took the opportunity to pick one of these up.

The curl cream is a fairly thick product with more of a gel texture than a cream one. It claims to "smooth away frizziness and hold your curls". And it really does deliver - a small dab distributed through wet hair gives light hold while the hair dries - resulting in significantly less frizz. I also felt that the cream was slightly moisturising - my curls were not only less frizzy, but also very smooth and shiny.

The one downside is that as with many curl products with build-in hold, you can end up with a slightly crunchy feeling 'do after air drying - but this is easily scrunched out, and well worth it for the definition the product provides.

Best thing about this product? The price. For just £1.29, you get a whopping 250ml of product, and given that you need so little, the tub should last for ages. I'm bowled over by this product - really wasn't expecting this kind of performance for this price.

Boots Essentials Curl Creme, £1.29 for 250ml at Boots.com.

Last week, I wrote about the Curly Girl method, which hypothesises that curly hair does better without shampoo, as the most common cleanser in shampoo, SLS, is too harsh for delicate curly hair. In order to cut out shampoo, one has to also cut out anything that'll build up on the hair - silicones and polyquatariums.

I started off my shampoo free routine with one last shampoo - without silicone - to rid my hair of any build up before I began. I used Aussie Miracle Moist, which is silicone free and actually rather nice. It's been donated to my husband, now though, as after conditioning with Original Source White Pear and Avocado conditioner, I was free of silicones and ready to start co-washing.

For my next wash, I applied a palmful of conditioner to my scalp, and massaged with my fingers as I used to do with shampoo. Obviously, I didn't get any lather, which was a very strange feeling. After rinsing thoroughly, I applied some more conditioner to the lengths of my hair, and then I was done. I was very surprised by how clean my hair felt and looked after a rubdown with just conditioner; easily as clean as with shampoo. My hair also immediately started feeling softer and less dry.

A week on, my curl definition has improved, and although I'm still somewhat frizzy, I think it's less so than it used to be. I have noticed that my fringe gets greasy much faster - I think I'm probably using too much conditioner on it, so I'm trying to tone down. My big fear, that I would end up looking lank-haired and greasy, seems to have been unfounded thus far. So far so good!

I'll report back soon, and hopefully will have some before and after photos to compare too.

I've read several articles recently about the Curly Girl method, which supposedly helps to keep curly hair well moisturised and frizz free. Apparently, the SLS in most shampoos (which is generally a fairly drying ingredient) strips moisture from curly hair, which is in general more dry than other hair types. Primarily, the theory is that by giving up shampoo, and therefore SLS, curls become more moisturised, less frizzy, and more well defined.

Now, the thought of skipping the shampoo makes me shudder - I can't feel properly clean if my hair is greasy. According to followers of the CG method, cutting out conditioners and stylers that contain silicones cuts down on the build up on dirty hair - and hair that's dirty with natural oils only can be washed with conditioner (silicone free, of course).

So, I've taken the plunge - I started off a couple of days ago with a final shampoo (which didn't contain silicone), and today tried out my first "co-wash" (conditioner wash). I applied a silicone free conditioner to my roots and sort of massaged as I would normally do with shampoo. I'll admit, this felt very weird, given the lack of foam. After rinsing thoroughly I applied the same conditioner as I normall would, and rinsed again. After a careful application of (silicone free) stylers, my hair is clean, shiny, and soft.

In the coming weeks I'll continue to steer away from the shampoo and try out a variety of silicone free conditioners in a bid to control my frizzy curly hair - and reporting on it along the way.

A recent trip to Lush led me to pick up their Coolaulin conditioner, a coconut conditioner for dry, processed or curly hair - and coincidentally, my hair is all three!

The most striking thing about this conditioner is the scent. I absolutely love the smell of coconut, and I was expecting this to smell very strongly of it. I was surprised, and also pleased, to discover that the coconut scent is rather subtle, and has slightly woody undertones - smelling to me like a more natural scent than that in products I've used before.

While the instructions don't call for it to be left in the hair, as with most conditioners, I left it in my hair for 15 minutes to get maximum effect. I wasn't disappointed! My hair was left soft and much shinier than usual, with a slight scent that didn't linger for long. While not an intensive conditioner, it'll make a good regular use conditioner for dry hair.

The only reservation I have about this is the inclusion of SLS, or Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which is a surfactant used to lift oil from the hair, or to thicken or add lather to a product. Lush say they use it as a thickener. This seems odd to me, given that this product is marketed for curls, despite SLS often being thought of as damaging to curly hair.

If you'd like to try it for yourself, you can get it from Lush, £6.30 for 240ml (and available in other sizes too).

Being obsessed with frizz, I'm always willing to test anti-frizz products - here is the latest:

I have thick, curly hair. I usually make it more-or-less manageable by using a thick conditioner, covering it in curl cream, and leaving it to dry naturally. But when I want to wear it straight, the prospect of combing it through so I can begin blowdrying mostly makes me think OUCH. Similarly, brushing out my stepdaughter's hair is a task that makes her go OUCH, regardless of how gentle I am.

Enter the Tangle Teezer; it found fame on the Dragons Den, and has since gone on to be a bit of a hit product. I never really saw the point, thinking that it just seemed to be an ergonomic comb.. until a hairdresser recently used it on my hair before a blowdry.

As she gently worked it through my hair, I found that there was no pulling, no snagging, and no tugging. I have no idea how it works, but it definitely does work; detangling hair is much, much easier with this than it is with a regular brush (or comb). I want one for myself, and one for my stepdaughter after trying to tame her long, thick hair this weekend.

If you'd like to try one for yourself, you can get them in a range of colours from BeautyBay.com for £9.75.

I love it when you guys send me tips like this - not having hair that is the least bit curly, I found this tip fascinating - I had to get her to send me a picture of what she was talking about because I just couldn't fathom it - here's Ruthie's tip, she wants to save you some $:

"I was at my hairstylist yesterday and she had these massive microfibre gloves that she got at her suppliers. ( She's petite and looked like she was missing the rest of her bear costume..lol) The point of these gloves are to help absorb the water as you crunch curly hair so as not to disturb the curl. I said I think you can get gloves at the $ store from the same material..sure enough I found some in the wintergear section..they have kids and adults..check the colours though..some colours seem to be softer than others..I picked the brown..I tried it this morning and it does exactly the same thing..yay..I picked up a pair for my stylist too. I think she said she paid 14.00 for hers..mine have the Dollarama label..lol..they are the matte type microfibre gloves..NOT the fuzzy shiny silky feeling things that would shine in the dark...I think my stylist will be returning hers to the supplier..."