Frizz Factor

Hola Chicas!

There are always aspects of my routine that I wait to reveal until I know that it’s worth your time to read, or try. I’m sure many of you own a Denman…most Product Junkies do. I’ve had my D3 for about 3 years, and it’s only been used, at the most, 10 times. In the past, when I wore wash-n-go’s regularly, I tried it as a detangling tool. Although it did an excellent smoothing job, and induced clumping, I felt that I was losing excessive amounts of hair, so I hid it from myself.
Every once in a while, a curly diva will start a thread about the wonders of the Denman D3 or D4, and I’d revisit it with less than stellar results. My aunt began using her D4 to style, and was achieving excellent, frizz free results. So, I pulled it out, dusted it off, and began experimenting. For my past 3 Twist-n-Curl sets, I’ve used it to smooth the hair prior to twisting. Here’s the sequence of events:

1. Shower and detangle with fingers and wide tooth comb (Herbal Essence Hello Hydration)
2. Apply LustraSilk Shea Butter and Mango throughout
3. Step out of the shower and section hair into 4 (2 sections on the right, 2 on the left)
4. Pick a section (I usually start with left-back section).
5. Partition off enough hair for one twist, secure the rest, up and out of the way.
6. Spritz that section with Juices and Berries (for slip and moisture) and brush with the Denman D3 to smooth. Be VERY gentle and brush from ends to root.
7. Twist that section, secure the root with a duckbill clip
8. Repeat steps 5-7
9. Roll the ends
10. Air Dry
11. Enjoy your smooooth results 🙂

Here’s what my Denman D3 looks like, I purchased it from Sallys Beauty Supply for around 8 dollars:Other frizz reducing tactics:

• No touchie while you’re air-drying. This goes for roller sets, twists, or wash-n-gos. Seriously, don’t touch your hair until it’s dry, or near dry. If you need to, paint your nails…keep those hands occupied!
• Make sure that your product of choice is evenly distributed. Forgotten areas will inevitably turn to undefined fluff.
• Detangle thoroughly- this can be done with your fingers, wide tooth comb, or denman. For naturals with fine strands like me, I’d suggest one or both of the first two options. I still would never use the Denman to detangle my kinks. Remember, smooth results happen when the hair is tangle free and also free of shed hairs.
• Use Shea Butter as a pomade. I apply butter to my ends prior to rolling, and after taking the rollers out. I also carry around a small container of Shea butter (and now Naturally Me Body Butter) as a spot treatment in case of emergency. The butter kills two birds with one stone- it reduces frizz while providing a bit of moisture.

There you have it. I plan to continue with my Denman use for now. I’m not losing any more hair than I usually do, and my results are noticeably smoother. Which is funny if you think about it- I immediately begin to fluff things up to induce frizz. Frizz= character! If I begin to feel that the use of the Denman is counter productive to my volume/big hair goals, I’ll immediately hide it from myself again 🙂

Later Gators,
Nik