Reflections on My First Gina Curl
It’s been about 7 months since my first Gina Curl and I’ve learned alot since diving head first into the curly perm world. One of the major “symptoms” I experienced since the initial Gina Curl was a moderate amount of shedding, especially within the first few weeks. It was hard to gauge whether this shedding was abnormal as, anytime I normally detangled my 4C hair, there was a significant amount of hair on the brush. However, I did not wash my 4C hair as often as I wash my curly permed hair (every 3days) and this hair was looser and stretched out so it seemed more plentiful. I also witnessed how thin my hair was (you could see pretty much through my hair). I wasn’t too surprised by the lack of fullness in my hair as I’ve always had thin hair and my mom and sister also have thin hair. It was just more evident how thin it was when it wasn’t in a fro.
A practice I had to quickly learn, though it took a few months to realize this, was to not detangling my hair like I did when I had 4C hair. Because I was washing my hair so often, I thought the detangling process had to be as thorough, with sectioned out hair and constantly brushing through until the hair was completely smooth running a brush through it. It’s important to use a wide tooth comb when detangling curly permed hair and you don’t have to detangle your hair to death! With my 4c hair, if my ends weren’t constantly moisturized they would tangle incessantly so I always felt the pressure to detangle which caused unnecessary thinning. However, with the permed hair, detangling often is not necessary due to the looser curls. Additionally, with my light detangling every 3 days, wetting and moisturizing my hair almost everyday and my continuous hair protective methods like using my bonnet, it helps avoid hair breakage. So avoiding aggressive detangling is a huge tip I’m taking onto my second Gina Curl journey to prevent further thinning.
Navigating “Protective Style” Challenges
One of the challenges I faced during my first Gina Curl was my hair length. It wasn’t so long where I could have it out. I basically felt more comfortable tying it up everyday and eventually got bored of the style so decided to throw my hair in some single braids. I learned that it’s recommended not to leave braids in for longer than two weeks with the Gina Curl, and washing my hair twice a week became essential. After taking the braids out after about a month, my hair felt like it had experienced some breakage. I found my hair was a little bit harder to manage after that so as much as possible, I’m going to try to avoid “protective styles” during my second Gina Curl as my hair is long enough now where I can do different styles to my own hair. No style boredom!
My Secret Weapons LED Hair Mask, Wave and Aztec Clay
Throughout this journey, I also used my LED hair helmet, the aztec clay mask and the wave nouveau hair lotion which I feel all enhanced my hair growth and health. The LED helmet is known to increase cellular activity and blood flow to the scalp (although there was one time I overdried my hair by thinking I could use it for an hour instead of the recommended 25 minutes). Besides that, when used correctly, I truly believe it helps to grow hair exponentially. Another game-changer was using Aztec clay on my hair—it reignited my curls every time! I did it twice during my first Gina Curl. My hair always felt so soft and clean after this treatment so it’s definitely something I’ll keep in my routine during my second Gina Curl process. My third secret weapon during my first Gina Curl is probably the most impactful. I looked up ways to moisturize my newly permed hair and saw lots of reviews suggesting to use the Wave Nouveau Hair Lotion as this product is used post the wave nouveau curly perm treatment. This was hands down the best moisturizer for my hair. It penetrated well, didn’t leave my hair feeling heavy but my hair also felt thoroughly moisturized. Light smell. Really no complaints when it comes to this moisturizer. It’s really helped with keeping the right amount of moisture needed for a curly perm.
The Monthly Hurdle: Moisturizing and Growth Struggles
The hardest part of my Gina Curl process came during the 3-6 month period. As my hair grew, it became increasingly difficult to moisturize and detangle my 4C roots. The more I tried to avoid detangling, the more struggle I had the next time I detangled. My hair also just did not look good with the transition occurring. It was difficult to tie my hair with the two different textures and it really got bad at the 7-8 month mark. I tried to save some money and not go in for a retreat at 6 months but I now realize why they ask you to come back in 6 months. The hair becomes pretty unmanageable after that.
Within the this time frame I have thought I’d try some new haircare products. I was typically using the Pattern and Vegamour brands for their shampoos and conditioners (which worked AMAZINGLY for my hair) but I wanted to try something that wasn’t mainly just hydrating. So I tried the K18 Peptide brand, which claims to repair hair follicles with peptides rather than protein (I’ve been told protein is a no-no for the Gina Curl), but K18 didn’t work well for me. The K18 shampoo, in particular, stripped my hair, leading to more matting. Wasn’t sure if their molecular repair oil helped my hair because it truly started matting and was pretty unmanageable since I implemented the products to my routine. After using it every three days for a week and a half, I had to stop and return the K18 products. People seem to love it but not sure if it was the best for my curly perm. Hydration and deep conditioners are the best treatments for the Gina Curl.
The Big Reveal: My Hair After My Second Gina Curl
Seven months after my first Gina Curl, I finally redid my hair. The results were incredible—I had never seen my hair grow this quickly! My stylist said I gained 6 inches of growth, though I think it was closer to 4. I attest it to all the moisturizing and other modalities to improve my hair’s health but I think just having the looser pattern reduced snags and knots which was causing 90% of my breakage. With the breakage reducing, growth was easier to see and sustain.
My Second Gina Curl: A Slightly Different Process
The second Gina Curl treatment was different from the first. This time, the perming solution was applied only to my new growth, while a protective solution was used on my previously permed hair. The process was more tedious—we had to section out the back of my hair, wash that out first, and then finish the front. I was also under the dryer for longer, about 2 hours compared to just 1 hour previously.
The Final Look: Exactly What I Wanted
The finished product was exactly what I hoped for. My roots had tighter curls, and the rest of my hair was slightly looser. Even though I liked my last treatment I really loved the results of this one as the last one my roots were less processed and so, even though it was slight, I could see more of a texture difference between the curly permed hair and the slightly permed roots. That’s really the purpose of the Gina curl is to not overprocess the roots. However, the roots were a little bit more processed and looked like the rest of my curly perm this time. My hair though feels strong and I’ve experienced such a small amount of shedding compared to my first time, it’s night and day. Although my hair is thin towards the ends and may continue to look like that as my hair gets longer, I feel much more comfortable with having my hair down than the first time. The price is hefty and still debatable on whether people think it’s worth it but, not to be dramatic, the Gina Curl has transformed my life. It’s given me the confidence to maintain my permed hair’s health and support its continued growth while still sustaining beautiful textured hair.
Also Read: Getting a Gina Curl: The Difference Between the Gina Curl and Jheri Curl
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