The Curl Chronicles: Product Review

It has been a very long time since I have done anything to do with curls. I admit, I found something that worked and I have stuck with it (read here), but recently I got the itch. You know, the itch that there may be something better!  The first two products I tried were Garnier Fructis curl calm down and Curly Sexy Hair curling crème.

Both of these products smell lovely compared to my favored VO5 hairdressing, but neither compared to how well it works!  

The Curly Sexy Hair curling crème worked in well and my hair drank it up. It didn't leave a greasy feeling behind, but it did nothing to help my curls stay in shape.  A few hours after my hair was dry, it was a wispy, poofy mess! Even with multiple attempts, this product was a fail for me.

The Garnier Fructis curl calm down worked easily into my hair and left a little grease feeling, but that went away as my hair dried.  It did wonders on the frizz and my hair was smooth, but my curls didn't hold shape for very long... boo! On my next attempt with this product, I decided to put a very small amount of my trusty VO5 in my hair before working in this cream, and that did the trick! I had soft manageable curls all day with less frizz than if I was just using the VO5.  This is my new, go-to combination for curls, and it has stood up to the crazy Michigan weather thus far.  

Just a reminder... I am sharing the experiences that I had with these products, and I know that not all curls are the same! Having curly hair can sometimes be a pain and with so many products out there, I thought that I should share what has and has not worked for me!  

~Charlie

The Curl Chronicles

This tube isn't very pretty, and the smell isn't all that amazing either, but what it does to your hair makes up for it.   My mom would always tell me to use it when I was younger, but I always resisted because it was the stuff my dad used (silly, I know, but look at it... you wouldn't have done it either)!  After an attack of the frizz with nothing I would normally use working (and an outdoor wedding to go to), I got desperate and tried it out. 

I can't say it enough... this stuff works miracles (and the smell goes away after a bit).  I have been using it for a few weeks now, and my curls have never behaved better without product! Yes, thats right with-out-product!!! I have been putting a very small amount (**Warning I mean it... very small. A very, very little goes a long long way... Promise, if you put too much in, it will be greasy mess) through damp hair (it doesn't work as well on dry hair), I scrunch a bit and let it dry, and I have lovely soft, touchable curls for the summer.   I hate putting tons of product in my hair on sweaty days. 

For about $5 you can pick this up at your local drug store... it's honestly worth the try. They also have a special one for people with light colored or thin hair :).

~Charlie

*p.s. This is just my experience with the product, i'm not being paid to say this!:)*

The Curl Chronicles

Since last month when I made it a goal to wear my hair curly every day for the month, I haven't wanted to straighten it or take heat to it.  The fact that it's summer time helps too (straightened curly hair in the humidity often looks like a bad wig!).  So... I have been searching around for different things to do to mix it up and break the every day ponytail routine.  I was intrigued by the Rag Rolling DIY by Katie on Elsie's blog.  It would be something that would let me go to bed with wet hair and not have to worry about the half-flattened afro that you will wake up with in the morning.  I tried it over the weekend, and at first it kinda looked like I got a bad perm (I think because my hair is barely to my shoulders and Katie's is much longer), but some conditioner, bobby pins and another one of Katie's hair tutorials to the rescue, and it was finally tamed! (Not to mention that I found another use for all that lace trim I couldn't pass up on sale).  After taming, it was a super cute, very tight curl that I pinned up in a "poof", as my friends and I call it :).  

As I find more lovely things to do with curls I promise to share!

~Charlie