Clumping!

From trying out various combinations of Curly Girl techniques - AKA trying to cheat - for me clumps only really seem to happen if hair is sopping wet, then a fair bit of leave-in conditioner and LOADS of gel scrunched in then leave. You might need less products if your hair is not as porous but the water part is essential as that makes groups of hairs want to stick together, the gel part is more to keep them stuck together once the water evaporates and to encourage curl. Even squeezing it out so not dripping makes my hair clump less. AFAIK plopping in a towel or  shower cap is to stop the weight of the hair/ water from pulling the curls out, I don't think it improves clumping. If you gently comb part of the fringe with a wide tooth comb or press down gently with the palm of your hand or fingers you should be able to get the roots area straighter. Just don't comb or press on the ends.

Cool thanks, I'll try without the shower cap next time 🙂

Have you tried amla powder? I've been using it as part of my herb wash and it really helps my curl pattern.

Oooh I adooooore amla, I used to use it in herb washes combined with shikaka or aritha, but now I use it mixed in conditioner for a nice treat, it's really awesome.

Amla!! I used it for the first time yesterday and my bleach damaged curls are almost better than before...  I also use aloe vera gel on dripping wet hair, scrunching it in both with head upside down and not... it seems like straw when drying, but when 100% dry it's soft and holds the curls...
creams don't work at all with my curls... they just go half-wawy and flat as soon as they dry and horribly messy the second day... leave-ins only if too dry on the ends...
To avoid fuzzyness, use an old t-shirt to dry the hair instead of a towel (don't do the  turban thing, just scrunch it with the shirt on your hands - I'm horrible at explaining things in english, sorry! -  with head upside-down, I do it after the gel, and don't touch it while air drying, so that you don't break the form of the curl. If too clumpy when 100% dry (too much gel ^^) scrunch it out...
🙂

What is this magical substance called amla and where could I buy it and how do I use it?!

I buy my amla from spicesofindia.co.uk, it's dirt cheap but if you have an indian grocery store try that. I also buy other herbs from there and they sell the vatika enriched coconut oil which is supposed to be badass. I had a phase where I obsessed over indian haircare for a while :).

Amla is an indian powder. You can get it on ebay or spices of india (this is where i got mine and they also have super cheap coconut oil!) I add it to my herbal wash, mix with water, let it sit for a while (15-30 mins) then apply it to my hair. I leave it for anywhere between 5-20 mins depending on how heavy my preoiling was then rinse. You can also make a mix of pure amla as a sort of deep treatment by mixing a couple of tablespoons or so with water.

Theo do you add the powder straight into your conditioner or do you make a paste first then mix it with your conditioner?

Starshine; amla brought back my curl pattern too! I had this weird thing going on before i used amla where my hair would only curl properly on the upper lengths of hair and be all wavy-ish on the bottom because the ends are really bleach damaged. Amla really helps even my curl out.

You can also get amla oil but they usually contain mineral oils and other ingredients. I've made my own amla oil by heating coconut oil and amla powder together but i've not used it so not sure how well it works.

Also amla can cause your hair to darken but i've not experianced this myself.

I am so buying some of this, thankyou!

It's an indian plant, I used the powder in a home-made hair mask. (Inci: coconut oil, aloe, amla, vinegar... or so I think *whistle*) I bought it in an Indian shop here in italy and mine looks like this
http://www.theindianfoodstore.com/hesh-amla-herbal-powder-100g.html
there is a description in the link on how to use it, but imo it doesn't need the overnight soak...but nees some time on hair... And I think you can also put it in a conditioner...
I have light blonde hair atm and didn't notice any weird tint after one use...
If you buy any amla shampoo/cond/ oil be careful!! as most are full of not-so-lovely things (especially the oil... there is one I see everywhere that has a nightmare inci *nono*)
🙂

I also use aloe vera gel on dripping wet hair

You mean a normal one or there is a specific for the hair?

Amla is an indian powder. You can get it on ebay or spices of india (this is where i got mine and they also have super cheap coconut oil!) I add it to my herbal wash, mix with water, let it sit for a while (15-30 mins) then apply it to my hair. I leave it for anywhere between 5-20 mins depending on how heavy my preoiling was then rinse. You can also make a mix of pure amla as a sort of deep treatment by mixing a couple of tablespoons or so with water.

Theo do you add the powder straight into your conditioner or do you make a paste first then mix it with your conditioner?

Starshine; amla brought back my curl pattern too! I had this weird thing going on before i used amla where my hair would only curl properly on the upper lengths of hair and be all wavy-ish on the bottom because the ends are really bleach damaged. Amla really helps even my curl out.

You can also get amla oil but they usually contain mineral oils and other ingredients. I've made my own amla oil by heating coconut oil and amla powder together but i've not used it so not sure how well it works.

Also amla can cause your hair to darken but i've not experianced this myself.

I make the paste first and then add it to conditioner when I use it as a conditioning treatment as opposed to a wash. I like mixing it with cassia or brahmi (also from the same hesh line). I kinda wanna try more of these powders from hesh they're so cheap and awesome.

I make the paste first and then add it to conditioner when I use it as a conditioning treatment as opposed to a wash. I like mixing it with cassia or brahmi (also from the same hesh line). I kinda wanna try more of these powders from hesh they're so cheap and awesome.

Interesting! I'm thinking of mixing my amla, shikakai and aritha with conditioner because my current method is really messy.

@ Sunny_girl: I use the 98% Aloe gel... But here in Italy it's damn hard finding anything that's not Oreal, Tigi or similar... And that's either creamy/oily, full of silicones or with alcohol... so I'm sticking with the aloe^^   Maybe you can find something more suitable! 🙂
I use it for everything: body&face lotion, make-up remover, hair gel, in hair masks... ^^

@mcgvil: frow what I know, shikakai acts like a shampoo, so are you doing that when COwashing? (If yes I'm interested!^^)