Flexirods Can Be Fun!

For the past week, I've been on all the social sites, researching Flexirods. So, before we plummet into winter temps, I decided to try my hand at them , too! Armed with 6 6-packs of 5/8-inch rods in two different lengths, this is how I did my own Flexi set.

After my weekly protein steam deep treatment, and washing and conditioning, I finger parted my hair from ear to ear, split those sections in two and clipped them all out of the way. To keep my hair damp, I spritzed with aloe vera gel mixed with distilled water and began applying Giovanni Direct Leave-In Weightless Moisture Conditioner to the first section followed by an old favorite, Organic Root Stimulator's Carrot Oil.

I've always loved the smell, and how soft and shiny it makes my hair.

All of my research revealed a cream "moisturizer" is one of two ingredients needed to get bouncy spiral curls from a Flexirod set. A lot of people use Miss Jessie's Quick Curls or Curly Pudding, but I've never used the first and the latter doesn't agree with me. So, I used what I knew worked for me!

After applying the Carrot Oil cream, I then applied a little bit of As I Am Naturally's Curling Jelly. I still had two sample packs they'd sent me, but only needed one pack for my whole head. I'm not a fan of gel, but I only used enough to give my hair a little bit of slip.

Then, I brushed the section with my Denman until it was as smooth as possible before applying an end paper to the end of my hair. Last step was rolling the hair in a vertical direction from bottom to top and fold over the ends of the rods to secure. It's very important to maintain tension while rolling.

My research also revealed that some people sleep in these things overnight or sit under a hooded hair dryer. I know I didn't roll the rods that tight, but after a few hours, they started hurting my head so I knew sleeping in them wasn't an option. I also don't own a hooded hairdryer, so this is what I did:

I grabbed a plastic grocery bag, stretched it out a little, put it over my head and stuck my hair dryer inside on the low/hot setting. In a few seconds, hot air was circulated all over my head and my hair was dry in about 30 minutes!

I was a little nervous to remove the rods because the hair has to be absolutely dry before you remove them, but I was excited about the shine and how smooth my hair was. A few spots didn't have enough tension, but for a first try with rollers of any type, I was pretty pleased with the anticipated results.

Just look at that silky shine!

With the Flexirods removed, I see a few trouble spots, but I think the effort is definitely worth it. I just need to get more rods and maybe some smaller sizes, and to maintain tension on every single section of hair. It's obvious I took more care with the Flexirods on the lower half of my hair and less on the upper half, so next time around, I know what to do and my Flexirod set will be perfect. I left the hair like this overnight, but will post a pic of my hair tomorrow after I've separated the curls and fluffed my hair!

I am so digging these curls!

Tune in tomorrow for the final results! I'm praying I don't turn out looking like Little Orphan Annie, so...

The final results!

I think I'd like to try this again, but I definitely need more rods as I put too much hair on a some so my hair wasn't smooth in a few spots. The true test is how long this look will last! Stay tuned, though! I just got a package from Finger Comber today! I'm using two of their styles for my winter hair and I'll be placing another order for a third winter hair style!

Holding All Curls!!!!!!!!

A few weeks ago, OBI Natural Haircare sent me a few full-size samples to try out. Y'all know I'm crazy about my own line, Wash Day, but I do love trying out other stuff from time to time.

Last week, I washed and conditioned as usual before spritzing with OBI's Curl Moisture Spray.

Pretty awesome stuff!

I immediately noticed a wonderful. My hair has some serious combination strands, but this spray helped my curls and waves look more uniform, and my hair felt really good! After a few spritzes and smoothing this through each section, I swear my hair had beautiful coils worthy of wearing it out in a WNG-something that's always alluded me. This product has earned a spot in my hair care closet and definitely gets two coils up! I only wish it came in a bigger bottle. I used almost half the bottle!

Then, I used OBI's Curl Moisture Cream. I might add that it's compatible with Giovanni Direct Leave-In.

Don't be fooled by the power of this light, fluffy cream.

Now, creams and I don't really get along, but to my surprise, this hair cream played quite nicely with my hair!  It's well-known that I wash and set my hair once a week with my chosen styling product, so whatever I use in my twist out has to have some staying power. And, this does the trick...for the most part. Mid-week, I did have to retwist the top half of my hair, but I used the Curl Moisture Spray instead of adding more Curl Moisture Cream. While my hair was gorgeous, it felt and looked dry, and lacked the bounce I'm used to having. So, I give this one coil up. Not sure I'd add this to my arsenal, but in a pinch, it'll do.

This week, I decided to try out the Curl Enhancing Custard, so that review will be posted soon. But, here are my thoughts so far...

Jury's still out on this one!

I'm a little concerned about how my hair will turn out tomorrow. So far, my hair is almost fully dry and it's stiff, dry and crunchy! While I was pleased with the amount of definition I can see I'm going to have and how nicely my ends coiled without any extra help, I do not like how my hair feels. But, I kind of knew this as soon as I dipped my fingers in the jar. The consistency is like Mod Podge mixed with hair gel, and I am not a fan of hair gels. But, if you like Kinky Curly Knot Today, you will probably like this as it feels like a much thicker version. Crossing my fingers...

I also used a different shampoo this week, thanks to the LUSH store in Novi, Mich.

I love me some LUSH, so I was happy to get a freebie of this to try out!

First, let me say it smells amazing, but looks like...chunky orange puke? Aside from what it's designed to do, I was intrigued by the texture which makes following the instructions incredibly important. Your hands and hair must be sopping wet. Scoop out a nickel-size amount of Curly Wurly, lather it up in your hands and apply it to your hair. Honestly, I thought my sample was way too tiny for me to be able to give this a try and I even contemplated stealing my daughter's sample (sorry Ana!), but I only used half of my sample and it lathered my whole head! 

Curly Wurly made my hair soft and if I didn't know any better, I swear I saw curls popping where I've never seen them popping before. Curly Wurly also cleansed AND conditioned my hair without stripping it, and it lathers up really, really well. Since it's chock full of coconut oil, some of the coconut oil did solidify due to our dropping temps in Michigan so I had to pick little white chunks out of my hair, but I like this product. Curly Wurly gets two coils up, but I don't think I like it enough to buy it at $23.95.