flexi rods + natural hair... the good, the bad, & the ugly

thank GOD for the rain.in case you have central air or do not live in the northeast, it has been upwards of 100 degrees since about thursday. i had to resort to an all possicle diet & sleeping with frozen veggie packs at night. but i promised myself that i would try a flexi rod set this weekend & i was doing it... #byanymeansnecessary


my first attempt was thursday evening. i co-washed with a cheapie V05 condish, hot oiled with EVOO as usual, then used Giovanni Direct Leave- In & sealed with EVOO. islapped the flexis in using Bee Mine Curly Pudding. lemme explain why that was a fail. i failed to use a proper holding product to help "set" the set. it didn't dry properly & the EVOO left me with a greasy, undefined mess... it was just awl bad.

the next morning, iawoke at the crack o' dawn & trekked it to my local Walgreens (trying... and failing to beat the heat). i bought a lil tub of Organic Root Stimulator Twist & Lock gel, which i had heard was awesome for flexi rod sets. i co- washed again with V05 & detangled lightly in the shower (in 4 sections, as usual). then, i got #fancy & mixed a lil sour cream & lemon juice together & slapped that in my hair for about an hour. i read somewhere that the lactic acid in the sour cream paired with the citric acid of the lemon juice helps slam the cuticle of your hair shut-- resulting in smooth, shiny locks. i rinsed with freezing cold water & a little apple cider vinegar to further assist my cause.

&this time when i put the flexis in?? i made sure my hair was soaking wet, spraying the sections with a water/ACV mixture when they started to air-dry. i used a heaping amount of Twist& Lock gel & i sat under the dryer until i thought i was gonna pass out (it was unbearable in my apt). a couple sections in the back & sides didnt dry completely, so i left those flexis in until it was time for me to get ready to leave. my hair came out crunchy, but i separated the curls with a lil EVOO & let the humidity outside handle the rest. after a couple hours, my hair was soft again.

the flexis have been holding up pretty well, too. despite the heat wave, which i thought was gonna have the curls matted to my scalp when i woke up the next morning. ijust stuff my hair into a satin bonnet at night & voila! the only thing ithink im gonna do differently next time (besides using less gel) is make the sections a lil bigger. iended up using 60 flexi-rods-- 48 of the red & 12 of the orange. i like it because it's giving me more of a shrunken curly look, but idunno if im gonna have the patience to do that everyyyy week. we shall see.

ttyl.*