What does an incredibly hungover jalebi do when she wakes up the next morning & can’t sleep anymore?
Wash. The. Night. Off.
My insides felt like they are dying but I wasn’t going to start a new week feeling AND looking terrible. Plus, there’s nothing like a long cold shower to rev up the system and shake off that nausea.
Well, that and lots of fluids. 🤣
Also, I recently got my order of Bounce curl! I was mad excited to try it properly & have my hair smelling like the gel. A good distraction from the after effects of a great night out! 😍
I had also been eyeing my Rawkyn hair mask for a couple of days now – I haven’t deep conditioned in a while. PLUS, my hair needed some protein – they were falling limp too soon and weren’t lasting more than day 2. I have used this mask only thrice before this – this time I finally realised where i was going wrong. I’ve explained exactly what later in the post.
Table of Contents
This is how my curls turned out.
I KNOW RIGHT?
I am SO happy! Can you see the difference from the picture below? One is with the products mentioned in this postand the other is from this day when I used the products mentioned in this post.
Arata Hair Cream + Gel Versus Cantu Curl Activator + Bounce Curl Gel
There’s also some more shrinkage!
So ready to find out what was the wash day line-up? More below!
Products Used in My Curly Hair Routine
1. The Bodyshop Rainforest Moisture Shampoo
I often fall back to this shampoo. It’s gentle enough for my hair and all I need is a few pumps. This is a cleansing shampoo however, not a moisturising one. I needed to cleanse my hair of previous products without the extreme dryness that Pantene Clean (Clarifying shampoo) can give. It doesn’t have any sulphates but does contain Isopropyl alcohol, which makes it not CG Approved. You can check out my full review here: The Bodyshop Rainforest Moisture Shampoo Review to know what I really think about that!
Price: Rs. 790
Is It CG: Nope but can work quite well with one.
2. Red Rawkyn Clay Mask
Rawkyn, Bounce Curl and Righteous Roots Rx Oil are like Curly Hair Instagram’s golden trio. You will often find them together in many pictures of curly hair routine posts. It’s because they work SO WELL together! This clay mask comes under low- moderate protein deep treatments and has Red Clay/Kaolin Clay. It’s is NOT the same as bentonite clay but Rawkyn has Bentonite(Montmorillonite) too, albeit in smaller amounts.
Watch the videos below to learn the difference between the Bentonite, Kaolin and Rhassoul clay often used in hair products. Don’t skip the video explaining HOW it detoxes hair so well. This Youtuber is one of my favourites so make sure you give her a follow!
I will do a lengthy review soon on Rawkyn. All I can say at this point is that after these results, I will definitely be buying this again and using it on my hair more frequently. My curls felt super moisturised and had more shrinkage & body.
The last few times, I had been using Liz’s tip of using a small amount, which in my case, doesn’t work. I need a significantly more amount, because of the length of my hair & the tangles that I get since I need to travel via a crowded metro and windy auto rides. This time I used a bigger dollop per section and saw how EASY it was to detangle, coat and distribute the product through my hair. YAY!
I also think Rawkyn has a LOT to do with the success of today’s wash day. It just seems to have brought back a little structure and ringlets to my hair (my curls had become too moisturised and would fall flat too fast) which is incredible!
Price: Rs.1900
Is it CG: No. It has no silicones, sulphates, parabens, mineral oil, the usual alcohol culprits but it does have Witch Hazel, which can be drying in LARGE amounts. In this formulation, it is too little to cause any dryness (and it doesn’t for me) so this can be easily used in a CG routine, IMO.
3. Cantu Curl Activator Cream
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know HOW MUCH I love this curl cream! I tried this today specifically to compare the results again with Arata Hair Cream. I will reveal which I like more in it’s review so don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to know when the review comes out! 😛 You can check out my review and how I use this curl cream in this post: Cantu Curl Activator Cream Review
Price: Rs.600- 1500 (Prices fluctuate on Instagram)
Is It Cg: Yes
4. Bounce Curl Light Creme Gel
FINALLY I get to try this properly! I got a taste a few months back when Liz sent over some she had left for me to try. I tried it alone then, as the only styling product. It gave me weightless curls for sure but I still had some frizz as you can see from the video below. Also, since it has light hold, the definition faded till the next morning. Little did I know, I was doing it wrong. The product actually encourages you to pair it with leave in’s, curl creams if you have thick hair.
So, this time, when I used it with Cantu Curl Activator cream, this happened! 😍
YASSSSS! My curls are defined, shiny and don’t feel weighed down. I used more bounce curl and less Cantu to keep them feeling light. I will try different product cocktails, different styling techniques to see what works best with it and let you know, so don’t worry!
Is it CG: Yes
Price: Rs. 1,899.00
5. Righteous Roots Hair Rx Oil
Even my mum, who can be very particular about hair oils (she prefers ayurvedic ones she can get from Kerala stores) now requests me to give her this oil for her head massages. I use this now regularly for my scalp massages, detangling my hair & EIGHT other ways. Find them in this post: 10 Ways to Use Righteous Roots Hair Rx Oil For Growing Long Healthy Curly Hair
I used it to SOTC (scrunch out the crunch – even though there was hardly a gel cast), fluff my roots and bring some shine to my hair.
Is it CG: Yes
Price: Rs. 1,800
STEPS in My Curly Hair Routine
- Shampooed my scalp with The Bodyshop Rainforest Moisture Shampoo and rinsed it out.
- Separated hair into two sections and applied a big dollop of the Rawkyn Clay Mask to each.
- Made sure it coated all my strands and finger combed followed with a wide-toothed comb and then a narrow one.
- Covered it with my cholestrol hair cap and finished the rest of my shower.
- I kept this one for 12-15 minutes and rinsed it out, squeezing out excess water.
- Covered my hair back with my cap instead of wrapping it with a tshirt – this is called‘Wet Plopping’. I learnt this from hif3licia who does this to ensure her curls stay wet until she is dressed and ready to style. SO helpful! Do check out her gram – she’s got excellent tips for taking care of coloured curly hair as well.
- Removed the cap once I was ready and applied Cantu Curl Activator first. Raked it in and combed as usual.
- Did the same with Bounce Curl gel.
- Scrunched with a t shirt – there was a lovely squelching noise that wouldn’t have come if I hadn’t done wet plopping!
- Diffused with my Curly Co Diffuser on low heat and cold.
- I took some righteous roots oil in my palms, spread it and scrunched the curls softly and fluffed the roots with my fingers.
TADA!
Now all I need to see is how many days my curls and definition lasts. I will take my time to try this (but not too long since SO many of you have ask me about Bounce Curl) and use it for the review.
I hope this helped some of you understand how I wash and style my curls!
If my tips have helped you, please drop me a mail at pallavijuneja92@gmail.com – I would love to feature you. They will also help bring trust to new readers who have never heard of taking care of hair this way.
You can also drop me a DM on my Instagram @thecuriousjalebi that I update regularly or my Facebook page. Hope to see you there saying hello!
Jalebi out.
8 Comments
Ganesh
atHi! I have 3B, low porosity curls. Yours was the first Indian blog I cam across and loved it! I am using WOW ACV Shampoo, Kinky Curly Knot Today as Leaven In/Detangler and just purchased Cantu Shea Curl Activator Cream. Could you recommend me a good conditioner and gel? I was planning to get SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Conditioner and Kinky Curly Curl Custard Gel. Do you think these are good? Shall I try homemdae Flaxseed gel first? Also have found that when I comb my hair even with lots of conditioner, my hair turns frizzy but that can also be because I never used any styling products afterwards.Do you comb your scalp too? I have seen your post about denman brush but wasn’t clear whether we should comb our scalps too? Also I saw you reside in Delhi. Can you recommend a saloon where I can get a haircut? Sorry for flooding you with questions.
Pallavi Juneja
atAll the products you mentioned are loved across the world! Which one did you end up trying? Def try DIY FSG – it’s lovely. And yes, if you don’t use stylers and leave in conditioner, even if you comb your hair after conditioner, you can experience frizz. Stylers are essential. And yes, I comb my scalp too now and then, usually after an oiling session. Don’t use the denman to comb the scalp, use a normal narrow comb. Denman is only for detangling and styling.
Yes, I do stay in delhi. Try Deepak jalhan in Looks Salon, The Claridges! He’s very popular with the curly community in Delhi
Nirali
atHi Pallavi! Do you use shampoo to wash your hair every time? How frequently is that? I’ve been cowashing every 3 days with Loreal Smooth Intense, and then cleansing with Khadi shampoo + conditioner the third time around but my scalp is all itchy and mu curls are so dry. 🙁
For leave ins, I use loreal smooth intense + taft marathon again.
I’ve originally cleansed with pantene clean
Pallavi Juneja
atYes, mostly I shampoo. Sometimes I co wash! I would recommend you stop using Khadi shampoo and conditioner if you’re still on them. There are much better products in the market/
I would also say you invest in a proper co wash if your scalp is sensitive, Loreal is a very thick conditioner, it can also block scalp pores.
Gunjan Sinha
atHi…have been following you for a while and had a rather long query about your styling routine. Do you finger coil at all or use the STC method? I’m asking because I have fine, medium porosity hair with a mix of 3a/3b curls and I am experimenting with different styling routines and products. I have been doing STC for a while and I love the juicy clumps it gives me, but don’t like that my crown is flat when I do STC…when applying products I use the praying hands motion since I don’t want to disturb the clumps. The other method I used yesterday is to completely rinse out my conditioner and rake in products with my hair dripping wet – I used cantu curl activator and a mix of FSG and Jelly Soft Curls gel and scrunched my hair. The clumps formed were thinner, obviously, but once I did SOTC, I completely lost the curl definition. My hair looks 2b type right now, wavy and not curly at all….don’t know what happened, where I went wrong. This was my first time using Cantu, which I thought would give me hold…but, alas! I was so annoyed with my hair that I tied it all up in a bun and came to work. Will have to restyle with cantu and gel again tomorrow and see.
Sorry for the long rant, but I am just trying to find a routine that suits me. And gives me the curls I have been dying to have! Any guidance will help. Thanks!
Pallavi Juneja
atHi Gunjan. I find STC gives me fat clumps but overall reduces volume for me. I don’t have the patience to finger coil usually! I use it now and then for only the wonky parts. But for my best friend who has 3A hair, when she tries my method, the results you talk of happen to her too. STC just suits her.
There are methods like Pulsing and Super Soaker that you could try. DM me your hair pictures if you can, might help me understand where you’re going wrong.
Gunjan Sinha
atThanks Pallavi. I do do pulsing with STC and love the results, like I said. Saw the Super Soaker method on your blog and will try it tomorrow..Shall I DM you on Insta? My handle is purplechutney on IG.
Yo Momma's Hair So Dry, She Probably Hasn't Used This!
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