#WashDayExperience: Voluminous Curls

I was going to do the perm rods on for Tuesday 5/10 wash day, but I did not know how long it would take to set, and I would have to go to work the next day. Therefore, I decided to do it on a Friday so that it has all Friday night and Saturday morning to set. I got the inspiration to do a perm rod set from Jen of Just Grow Already's post that can be found here. Her results looked absolutely beautiful!
In total, I checked three tutorials before I started my perm rods, such as this YouTube video, Just Grow Already's post and Longing4Length's post here. From JGA, I learned to two strand twists my roots before rolling the perm rollers from ends to roots. From the YT video, I learned to roll once  then twist once then roll once then twist once etc until I reach the roots. While doing the set, I realized I had to hold my hair taut while doing the rolling and twisting so that it holds flat to the scalp when I'm finished. I need to make sure I roll my hair tightly in order to keep my hair smooth and to lay the rollers smoothly against my scalp. From the post "How to Minimize Frizz with Natural Hair," I learned to make sure hair is completely dry before I take out the rollers.  It also stated I need to make sure my hair is thoroughly detangled beforehand, but I wanted to try the perm rollers on not thoroughly detangled hair at least the first time I try a perm rod set. I just wanted to see how much detangled was adequate for a perm rod set because I am strictly a finger-detangler and didn't want to break out a comb.

I washed my hair Friday night after prepooing with my Indian powder-infused coconut oil the day before (Thursday). I used Alaffia African Black Soap as my shampoo (washed out with warm water) and then I conditioned with Audrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner (washed out with warm water). I wrung my hair out then t-shirt dried until it was enough dry (not dripping water and no more water was being absorbed into my cotton t-shirt). Then I applied E'tae Carmel Deep Reconstruction Treatment and let it sit in my hair for an hour. This was the first time I used it as a deep conditioner on freshly washed hair. Usually I use it as a prepoo or deep treatment on my hair before I wash it. I actually liked it alot on hair that has been freshly washed. It made my hair feel very moisturized and it was applied easily through my damp strands. It felt like it really seeped into my hair strands.

At 11am Saturday, I sectioned my hair in 4 sections using my hair clamps. I sprayed my Lottabody/water mix, Qhemet Biologics Olive & Honey Hydrating Balm, and Lok & Blok to each section. Then I put in my perm rods. I used 16 of the tan perm rods and 4 of the white ones.  I had to go to my friend's son's birthday party, so I put on a black satin cap and a blue beanie to cover my rollers. Because the rollers lay flat against my scalp, they are easily hidden in a beanie. Another plus for perm rollers is that they are not too uncomfortable and it isn't too uncomfortable to sleep with them in either since they lay flat against my head.  I took them out at 7pm and luckily they were dry but moisturized.

Here are the pictures of me applying the perm rods:
Applying the rollers to the right side of my head

The left side is still in hair clamps

 

 My perm rods finished

 When they came out

 After I separated and untwisted the two strand twist base

 And then I styled

 I feel like I did pretty good for a first try. I learned some lessons that I feel will help the next time I try perm rods. One, I didn't strictly follow the roll once/twice once rule. Another thing, is I will experiment with how far I two strand twist the root. I might try half way like JGA for next time. I also feel like I needed to use more rollers. JGA clearly used more than just 20 rollers and this Pinterest post shows someone using 48 rollers total (and their set came out beautifully!). I also should've detangled more thoroughly. My usual hairstyles do not require me to detangle super thoroughly. Usually finger detangling under the shower while I wash and condition my hair suffices. This time, not so much. I believe I will get sleeker results if I detangled more thoroughly. Also, I made the set pretty taut against my scalp. However, if I improve my technique (roll once, twice once) and detangle thoroughly I believe that I could make it even more taut against my scalp.  If my rollers are more taut against my scalp, then my roots would be more stretched and overall the set would look much better. I'm shooting for sleeker and more defined results next time. Many of my curls are undefined. I believe that practice makes perfect. As long as I continue to practice these sets, eventually I'll be a pro. I remember when I sucked at braidouts and now they're my go-to. The plus of perm rod sets besides the fact they're easy to sleep in is that they are very easy to put in the hair although the effort is time consuming.

I'm pretty satisfied for these results as it is my first time and it looks fine as an updo (and I mostly wear updos anyway).

 

Next week's topic is Next Day Hair. To be honest, day 2+ hair is usually my favorite. Some styles get better with age! I will showcase my day 2+ styles on next week's #WashDayExperience