I did my first PT and angels didin't sing. OR My hair hated my first PT.

The angels didn't sing for me either the first protein treatment (PT), and my hair loves protein.  If nothing bad happened, that is a good sign.  If your hair did not like protein, it would feel hard and rough.  There is a small percentage of people who's hair feels very soft after a PT and/or gets straighter.

If you did not have a negative reaction:

1)You may need to do more PTs before you start to notice a positive change in your hair.  One PT might not have totally taken care of all your hair's protein needs.  You might be very low on protein.
2)  You may need to leave the PT on longer.  Again, you just may need more protein.  Leaving a PT on longer will get more protein into your hair.
3)You may need to try a different kind of protein. Soy and wheat protein work for my hair, but collagen is magic.  You may need to experiment with different proteins until you find the one that works for you.
Some proteins may work better for your hair then others. 

I had a negative reaction.  Does that mean I'm protein sensitive?

1)  You could be protein sensitive.  It could be that protein just isn't for you.
2)  Your hair might not have liked the protein in your PT, but will like other types of protein.
3)  You might need less protein or a different protein.  Ion Effective Care and Aubrey Organics GPB are milder PTs.  Keratin and silk proteins are easier for some hair to take.
4)  How long did you leave it on?  Maybe you need to PT for a shorter time.
5)  Did you do a deep treatment (DT)?  If you did not do a deep treatment immediately afterward, go do one now.  You need moisture to balance the protein.  If you only used a rinse out, you might need to do a DT to get more moisture into your hair.
6)  There is the rare wavy that likes daily protein in his/her products (gels, leave ins, etc.), but cannot PT.   Your hair may freak out after a PT, but love protein otherwise. 

How to do a Protein Treatment

The first step is to wash your hair.  The protein will penetrate better on very clean hair.  If you low poo, it would be a good idea to low poo before a protein treatment.  Honestly though, I've washed my hair with a cowash and washed my hair with a low poo before a protein treatment (PT) and I don't notice any difference.

For your first PT, please test a small strand/section of hair.  Protein treatments aren't for everyone.  It is better to have a small section of hair that is rough and hard and craving moisture that to have a whole head of awful.

After washing, towel dry your hair and add your PT.  Towel drying helps prevent the water on your hair from diluting the PT.  The longer the PT is on your head, the more protein will penetrate into your hair's cortex.  It is best to follow the instructions on the bottle the first time you use that particular PT.  After that, you can experiment with  leaving a PT on longer, if you think your hair needs more protein.  Some people (me) leave PTs on for an hour.

Rinse and towel dry your hair again.  At this point, your hair may feel just fine.  It may also feel hard and awful.  This is also normal.  After my first PT, before adding the DT,  I thought "Welp, I broke my hair." My hair felt hard and awful.  Adding more moisture should make your hair feel nice again.  Towel dry your hair and add either a deep treatment (DT) or a moisturizing conditioner.  If you add a DT with ingredeints that can penetrate your hair's cortex (coconut oil, olive oil, etc.) you can leave the DT on up to an hour.  Rinse and style as usual.

If your hair tends not to need much moisture, and you are using a moisturizing PT (Spiral Solutions Repairing Protein Treatment, Ion Effective Care, etc.) you may not need to follow  your PT with a DT.  If your hair feels fine after the PT, you are good to go.  The first time you try a PT, you should follow with a DT or moisturizing conditioner just in case. 

Curltalk's Rymorg posted a thread on how to do PTs and DTs.  Rymorg is a stylist who trains other stylists.  There are lots of good tips in the first post and throughout the thread.  Many of the tips were repeated in this post. 

My Hair is Falling Out! (it probably isn't)

The odd are very good that your hair isn't actually falling out.  When you have straight hair and you brush it, shed hairs either end up in your brush or fall out sometime during the day.  When you wear your hair wavy or curly, when your hair sheds, it doesn't fall to the ground.  The waves/curl in your hair catch the shed hair and hold on to it. When you comb your hair in the shower, you have to manually remove all the hairs that have shed that day(s).  Looking at all the hair that has been naturally and normally shed in a day(s) at one time freaks a lot of people out.  It just looks like too much hair to loose. My relative jokes that says she removes a barbie doll worth of hair every time she washes it.  The odds are your hair isn't thinning.  I've been active on curl talk for years and Wavy Hair Community since it started.  I've read tons of posts by people alarmed by the amount of shedding.  I've never read a single post that said "CG made me bald".  Not one.  Trust me, if CG made anyone bald, someone would have posted about it.  :)  Here is a good link that explains the hair growth cycle.

Does your hair actually seem to be getting thinner?  When you look at your hair, do you seem to have less hair then you once had?  If so, you should see a doctor.  Many conditions that can be treated can cause thinning hair.  A thyroid condition is one example.  If you have old photos of your thicker hair, bring them to your doctor's appointment to show him/her.  Hair products will not cause your hair to fall out, unless you are doing something very extreme (think on the lines of a chemical burn, never washing, etc.).


Waterlilly716 posted a video on this subject.  FAQ:  Shedding, Breakage, and Hair Loss.  Oh My!

Now, take a deep breath and continue on with your day.  :)

What to Do if You Have Dry Hair.

If you've randomly stumbled upon this post, go to the "How do I get Started?" page and read the link that explains the Curly Girl Method.  The Curly Girl Method is a great way to help dry hair.

Cowashing
Cowashing adds moisture to hair.  You will probably want to cowash most of the time.

A moisturizing conditioner
Find a good moisturizing rinse out conditioner that works for your hair.  If your hair likes oils, try to find one with oils.  Coarse hair tends to like oils.  Oils soften coarse hair and make it more bendy.  If you have fine hair, you will have to be more cautious about oils.  Oils can make fine hair heavy or oily. You will have to experiment to find which oils work for your fine hair (if any).  You can mix oils into your conditioner to make your conditioner more moisturizing.  Some examples of moisturizing conditioners are:  Renpure Organics (red bottle), Biolage, GVP Conditioning Balm (Sally's, generic Biolage), Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle and Rose (oil heavy, strong scent), Darcy's Botanical's Pumpkin Conditioner (lots of oils, you can buy it here), Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner (Target and Walgreens, has a lot of shea butter, oils, and glycerin if those are issues for you).

Personally, I tend to prefer conditioners with behentrimonium methosulfate.   Behentrimonium methosulfate is an excellent moisturizing ingredient.  This post from The Natural Haven explains why it is a good moisturizing ingredient.  Behentrimonium methosulfate also adds a lot of slip.

Deep Treatments
Deep Treatments (DTs) help to add moisture to hair.  You want to look for a DT with good moisturizing ingredients.  Some examples of good ingredients to look for are coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, shea butter, jojoba oil, and aloe. If your DT contains things that can penetrate the hair's cortex (like coconut, olive, and avocado oil), leaving a DT on your hair longer then 5 minutes will make it work better.  The longer a DT is on your hair, the more it will penetrate into the hair's cortex.  In this popular curltalk thread, the author of the thread suggests towel drying your hair (so you don't dilute the DT) and leaving it on your hair for an hour.  Towel drying first also helps you use less product.  Many experts suggest adding heat to help a DT penetrate into your hair's cortex.  Heat opens up the cuticle and allows the DT to penetrate.  You should DT as often as necessary, but once a week is common.  You can make your own DT by adding things to your rinse out conditioner.  You can add oils, aloe, warmed honey, etc.  Two popular DTs found online are Curl Junkie Repair Me and Spiral Solutions Deeply Decadent Moisture.  Other DTs include One n' Only Argan Hydrating Mask (Sally Beauty Supply), DermOrganic Masque Conditioner (beauty supply stores).
 
Leave-in Conditioner
You should use one if you have dry hair.  You can use your rinse out conditioner as a leave in. 

Sealing
In low dews, you should seal your hair to keep the moisture in your hair.  After applying your leave in conditioner, smooth a few drops of oil over your hair.  You can use any oil you wish to seal your hair.  Some examples are olive oil and coconut oil.  If you have fine hair, you may prefer a lighter oil.  Grape seed oil (found by cooking oils) is a light oil and a good one to try.  Some people find grape seed oil to be drying.  It might help to apply oil to one section of your hair at a time. Other oils to try are sweet almond oil (health food stores) and apricot kernal oil.


The spritz and condish method
This method was developed for dealing with porous hair, but also works for dry hair. Here is the link for a better description.  For this method, you spray your hair with water until damp.  Since your hair is less wet then it would be if you wet it under running water, your hair soaks up less water and more conditioner.. This will help get your hair moisturized. My cliff notes version of the Spritz and Condish method is:  Spritz your hair with water until damp.  Add conditioner.  Wait 5-10 minutes.  (I'd suggest 15 minutes.  I've read that after 15 minutes your hair stops soaking up water.  If your hair soaks up less water, you will have less hygral fatigue.)  Get in the shower and rinse.  Cowash or low poo.  Add some conditioner to detangle.  Style as usual.

What is hygral fatigue?  When you stretch a rubber band it returns to its original shape.  If you stretch it over and over it no longer returns to its original shape.  When hair gets wet, it gets heavier and longer.  When it dries it weighs less and is shorter.  Like the rubber band, hair can only be stretched so many times before it no longer returns to its original shape.  When hair no longer returns to its original shape, that is hygral fatigue.  This The Natural Haven post explains hygral fatigue better.  I learned about hygral fatigue from that blog. 

The Squish 2 Condish Method
This is a method developed by curly hair stylist Melissa Stites.  This link from her blog explains how to do the method in depth.  In short, it is a method of rinsing out your conditioner while squishing in water.  This will leave your hair with the amount of conditioner it needs as a leave in conditioner when you are finished. 

The LOC Method
LOC stands for Liquid/Oil/Cream.  Basically, after you rinse out your conditioner, you 1) add a leave-in 2) seal your hair with a few drops of oil 3) add a cream (like a curl cream).  See this Curly Nikki link for more info. 

Oils 
This post on Science-y Hair Blog discusses which oils penetrate the hair's cuticle. Coconut oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, and argan oil are all good choices.   You can add oils to your DTs or conditioners to make them more moisturizing.  Jojoba oil (technically a wax) is very similar to your hair's own oils.  You can also add oils to homemade products like flax seed gel or the gelatin protein treatment.

Coconut Oil 
Please read my coconut oil post for more complete information on coconut oil.  Coconut oil is an excellent oil for dry hair.  You can try using it to scrunch out the crunch.  You may be able to add a very small amount to your ends at night.  It works great as a prewash treatment.  Please do a strand/small section test when you try a prewash treatment the first time.  Coconut oil is hard to remove for some hair and very easy to remove for others (me).  If it is hard to remove for you hair, you wouldn't want your whole head to end up oily the next day.  



Protein, possibly
If your hair is porous, you need to close the holes in your hair's cuticle so the moisture you are diligently adding doesn't just escape again through the holes.  Protein closes the holes in the cuticle and locks the moisture in.  Be sure to read the links on protein (link 1, link 2).  Protein is not for all hair and can be bad for some hair types.  If you have determined your hair should have protein, you should experiment with different kinds of protein until you find the one that works best for you.  To learn how finding the right protein made a difference in my hair, read My Gelatin Protein Treatment Testimonial in this link.  The difference was night and day.  Getting the right kind of protein for my hair was the single biggest step for getting my hair properly moisturized.  The magic protein for my hair was collagen.  For your hair it may be another protein.  Be sure to test both collagen and keratin when searching for a protein that works for your hair.

Honey 
Honey doesn't have a high success rate for dealing with dry hair.  But, when I had very dry hair, my hair absolutely loved it.  My picky hair rejected most of the ingredients that make a conditioner moisturizing.  I was having a terrible time finding a conditioner moisturizing enough for my hair.  I started to mix honey into my rinse out conditioner and it worked like magic.  I mixed 50% warmed honey and 50% conditioner to use as my rinse out.  I mixed it up each time I used my conditioner.  If you mix honey directly into your bottle, you will grow creepy crawlies (technical term) in your bottle. The preservative in your conditioner will not be able to handle the addition of honey.  I also mix honey into my gelatin PT.

Curl Enhancing Jelly Products
Curl enhancing products containing aloe or homemade flax seed gel add some moisture to hair.  Every little bit helps.  A curl cream would also be a good choice. Some examples of aloe containing curl enhancers are Kinky Curly Curling Custard (Target, online), Spiral Solutions Curl Enhancing Jelly, Spiral Solutions Firm Hold Gel (online), Curl Junkie Coffee Coco Curl Cream (online).  You can buy flax seed gel or okra gel at SweetCurlElixirs on Etsy or you can make them yourself.

Curl Creams:  Kinky Curly Knot Today (Target, Whole Foods, legendary for detangling),  Bioterra Curl Cream (Sally's), and Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie (Target ,Walgreens, Sally's).

Which ingredients to watch out for
Humectants in low dews can dry your hair. Humectants draw moisture to themselves.  In normal dew points, they draw moisture from the air into your hair.  In low dew points (under 45-30, depending on your hair), there is not enough moisture in the air for humectants to draw moisture from the air.  Humectants have a strong pull and must get their moisture from somewhere. In low dews, humectants pull moisture from your hair.  The humectant people seem to have the biggest problems with is glycerin.  Glycerin is the biggest problem in things left on your hair, such as leave in conditioner and styling products.  See my post on Humectants and Dew Points.  Magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) can be drying for hair. It is added to a lot of products for curly hair because it is curl enhancing.  If humectants or magnesium sulfate don't dry out your hair, they are fine for you to use.  Everyone's hair is different.  The rules don't apply to everyone.


Thanks to everyone in the Wavy Hair Community that helped suggest products for this post.

Off Topic: Poppy Nail Art.

One of my hobbies is nail polish.  I've recently started playing with nail art.  This is the poppy manicure I did for Memorial Day.  I followed the cutepolish youtube tutorial below.  Cutepolish has great tutorials for nail art newbies.  I used a small dotting tool and made several dots for the poppy centers instead of the large dotting tool shown in the video.  I used Sinful Colors Aquamarine for the base and Wet 'n Wild Megalast Heatwave and Wet 'n Wild Black Cream for the poppies.

Poppies always make me think of the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz.  Poppies...poppies...poppies.

Hair Cuts

Frankly, I don't want to write this post.  Why?  A great document already exists on the Facebook group Wavy Hair Community on this subject.  My post will only be a pale imitation.  Please go read the Wavy Hair Community file "Haircut Advice For Wavy Hair".  You must be a member to read it.  Not a member?  You should join.  It is a fun wavy hair group. You'd rather not join? Well, I guess you are stuck with me then.  After I finished writing this post, I wasn't completely satisfied with it.  But, it is the best I can do.  It has the key points for a wavy cut- long layers, no razor, no thinning.  I wish I knew more about cutting hair and could write a more complete post.

Long Layers
Layers help to show off your waves to their best advantage.  If your hair is one length, the top layers weigh down the under layers.  Your under layers can't wave as well under the weight of the top layer when your hair is all one length.  You want long layers (as opposed to layers that start higher on the head), because you want the top layer to be long enough to show the wave pattern. You want to get a few bends in before the first layer is cut. With chin length hair, the layers should start about eye level.  With hair that hits the shoulders, your layers should start mid ear to the bottom of the ear, depending on the length.  Longer hair?  I don't know.  I'll let you know when mine gets that long. :)

Where do your waves start?
If your hair doesn't start to wave until ear level (common for wavies) and you cut your hair to a chin length bob, you might not have much wave left.  You may end up with hair that looks mostly straight but likes to flip up and stick out at the ends.  

Face Framing Layers
You might want some face framing layers in front.  This will help bring attention to your face and show off your bone structure.


No Thinning Shears, No Thinning
If your hair is layered normally, all the hairs in one clump/one wave will end at about the same place.  The hairs will hang and wave together as a unit.  If your hair is thinned, there are shorter pieces within one clump. The shorter pieces may not want to hang with and play nice with the longer pieces.  The hair will not want to wave together  You will get little frizzy shorter hairs that stick out all over.


No Razors
Razors are split end makers.  If your hair is cut by a scissors, each individual hair is cut horizontally across the strand. When your hair is cut with a razor, each hair is cut closer to vertically down the strand.  There is more newly cut surface area if razored.  More newly cut surface area is exposed to the elements to be damaged.  The larger exposed cut area means hair is more prone to splitting.  With razor cuts, you get hairs cut at different, varied lengths, You get the same problems with waves not hanging together as described above with thinning shears/thinning.

Wear your hair wavy to the appointment.
Some people are visual learners and some oral learners.  I'd guess most stylists are visual learners, because they were drawn to a profession that involves visualizing hair.  If you go into the salon with straight hair, you will tell your stylist you normally wear your hair wavy.  But if s/he is a visual learner, the stylist may remember what they saw (straight hair), not what you said.  (This happened to me.)  Go in dressed in your normal style. You want the stylist to have a sense of your style.

Diva Haircuts
Deva trained hairstylists cut each curl individually.  Because this type of hair cut takes more time to complete and requires more training, it is more expensive.  Each wave will end exactly where it is best for your hairstyle.  Are Deva haircuts worth it for wavies?  It depends on several things.  First:  It depends on the skill of your particular Deva stylist (duh).   Second:  Does your hair always clump together the same way?  If so, a diva cut may be for you. If your hair clumps differently each time, you may end up with hairs of different lengths within a clump.  Third: Does your hair shrink a lot when it dries?  Deva haircuts are done on dry hair.  Some people have hair that shrinks different amounts in different places as it dries.  With a regular wet haircut, the layers can be even when wet, and uneven when it is dry. A Deva cut will have even layers when dry and wavy.  Fourth:  Do you alternate between straight and wavy styles?  If you alternate between wavy and straight styles, a Deva cut may not be for you.  The layers on a Deva cut may be even when wavy, but might not look even when styled straight.  I've never had a Deva cut and have no personal experience.

I came home from my haircut and it looks terrible.
It took (or will take) you quite a while to learn how to get the best out of your waves.  You can't expect your stylist to be as able to style your hair as well as you can style your own hair.   Also, some people find their hair freaks out for a few days after a haircut.  I don't know the science behind what causes hair to freak out. But, I've read enough reports about hair freaking out, I have no doubt this is true for some people.  Give your hair a few days and style it yourself before you judge your haircut.  If it is a terrible haircut, just remember that hair grows.  It isn't much of a comfort, but it is true.

My under layer is straighter and peeks out from behind my waves.
Have your stylist cut the straight under layer so it is the same length as the wavy layer directly above it when your hair is dry. When your hair is wet, the straight under layer will be shorter then the wavy layer above it.

See also:  Dorm Room Curly- Curly Cuts: How to Talk to Your Stylist to Get a Great Curly Cut  This contains tips on how to find a stylist and how to talk to your stylist.

Flax Seed Gel

Homemade Flax Seed Gel is a fantastic curl enhancer with a high success rate.  Flax Seed Gel (FSG) is also cheap and easy to make.  What's that?  Did I hear you say the thought of turning on a stove scares you to death.  Well you can buy some FSG (this shop may be out of business) here at Botticelli Botanicals.  Or Sweet Curls Elixirs  on Etsy.   Or Jessie Curl Rockin' Ringlets Styling Potion is pretty much FSG.  But, it really isn't hard to make and it only costs pennies a batch.  You can do it!

If you try Flaz Seed Gel for the first time from Sweet Curls Elixirs, I'd suggest either 1) plain FSG, 2) FSG with aloe (if you know your hair likes aloe) or 3) ordering a formula for your hair type  Or, maybe order a small bottle or regular and one for your hair type and work toward the perfect FSG for you from there.

FSG is a curl enhancer and helps to define waves/curls.  It doesn't have any hold on its own.  Many people who have hair that gets weighed down find FSG is a product they can use.  When you are trying FSG,  use more FSG then you think you should.  If you have wavy hair, you will probably want to top FSG with another gel with more hold.

Here is a youtube video on how to make FSG.

Here is the jumbo sized Curltalk thread on how to make FSG.  Here is Science'y Hair Blog's FSG recipe.  WS of Science-y Hair Blog lists some add in and tricks    to make FSG thicker and have more hold.  Hold is something most wavies will want. For your first batch, make the basic recipe.

You can customize FSG to fit your needs.  If you have dry hair, you can add oils.  If your hair likes humectants, you can add glycerin.  For hold you can add honey or agave nectar.  For hold and to thicken the gel, you can add corn starch, xanthan gum, hydroxyethylcellulose, or arrow root.  I like to soak my seeds overnight to make the gel thicker and have a bit more hold.  Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) can be added to make FSG more curl enhancing.  Some people (like me) find epsom salt too drying for their hair.  The gigantic curltalk thread has about a million ideas for things you can add.  If you don't like the flubber-y texture (see pic), mix your FSG with an immersion blender (stick blender).  The flubber-y texture also makes FSG jump out of your hand and run down the drain. Don't say I didn't warn you.  :)  With all the possible add ins, I'll probably never be done experimenting with my FSG recipe.

I suggest you read Science-y Hair Blog's post on preserving homemade hair gel.  She also has info on how to sterilize your equipment and containers, READ IT (last paragraph).  Did you read it yet?  Well make sure you go back and read it.   Keep as much FSG as you will use in a week or two in the fridge.  You can freeze the rest.  I've read that you can freeze and reuse the flax seeds for a second batch.  If your FSG smells sour, it has gone bad.  Toss it.  You can add preservatives to help keep your FSG fresh.  For more info on preservatives, you can read the giant FSG thread on curl talk and/or read the above Science-y Hair Blog link.