Curessence as a leave-in... read on

Hi Jen,When I go to the beach I should be on America's Home Videos. :-) First of all I highlight my hair, so I am very cautious about getting any real sun exposure on it. I use the Phyto hair protection products. I also wear a hat...no matter how dorky I look. :-)If I do swim, I try to wear a cap. If that is not possible, I pour bottled water (it is easier to lug around) on my hair before I get into the water and then as soon as I get out.I am also very fair skinned (natural blonde) and so I burn like crazy. So I wear a lot of sun screen. :-)I think prevention is the key and hair can be protected if done carefully. There is a great thread right now on Hair Talk about swimming caps and I do wear one of those if I go in a chlorine pool. The right ones do work. :-)Best wishes,Karen> Thanks for your story. It's good to know I'm not the> only one with hideous tangles! I've never tried the> Styling Curessence, but may next time I order> products.> Just curious... How do you prepare your hair for a day> at the beach?> Sincerely,> Jen

I'd like to know too! :-) Last time I was at the beach all I worried about was the color fading from my hair, not all this long length. I would imagine a good french braid, doused with heavy-duty leave-in conditioner (or oil?) would help. Salt water still would be heck on those ends though.

Hi Jen,I have naturally thick & wavy hair that over the course of a day with form a bunch of "mini-dreadlocks" especially near the base of my neck and the back of my crown.A few times in the past I got lazy and went to bed without first picking out the tangles and then the next morning there was hell to pay. I had to stop and pick the tangles out which could take as long as 15-20 minutes.So one day I decided to try something else. I did not detangle my hair and got right into the shower and decided to try just shampooing it...thinking for some insane reason...that would work. HAH!Well as you can expect, my hair that was already tangled was a blob of wet and matted hair. UGH. I applied a massive glob of Aveda Curessence to my hair while I was still in the shower and used my fingers to undo as many of the tangles as possible. That helped a lot.Then I got out of the shower and finished the job with Curessence Styling Spray. The combination of the Curessence in the shower and the Spray worked. I was careful to detangle from the bottom and work my way up slowly. It took me about 1 hour to finished the process.I am sure that the Revitalizer would have worked, I just always have super good luck with the Curessence and in my case...it did not seem to make my hair worse, but easier and softer to detangle. The Curessence spray finished the process nicely.I have also resorted to Aveda's Beautifying Oil when I get up in the morning and my hair is tangled. Yes. That does work too.What works best is for me to do diligence and make sure that I keep my hair detangled during the day and right before I go to bed. The longer my hair gets, the more important this becomes too.I also think that the humidity probably caused your hair problems. When I visit St. Louis in the summer (where it is a lot more humid than Dallas) my hair tends to matt up faster.Thanks for sharing your solution. The key is that it worked and you got your hair untangled. I am sure this may not have worked for some hair types.Karen> Hi, Jen!> I am glad that the Curessence got rid of the snarls. A> heavy conditioner will usually do the job. I am sure> the humidity added to the problem that you had.> Acapulco can get very humid in August and even> September. A similar thing happened to me there. I> used a mixture of aloe and olive oil and left it on my> head for about an hour. That did the job nicely.> Doesn't Curessence contain cyclomethicone?> I have used the aloe, rather than a conditioner before> going into salt water. Personally, I wear a swim cap> when I am doing heavy swimming. Salt water is harsh on> the hair.> Jade21

>I'm a bit confused, I thought Curessence caused the problem in the first place? Curessence is intended for infusing strengh building protein into the hair. Best way to use it is towel blot hair after shampooing, use as little as possible, imulsifying in your hands well, distribute as best you can, then comb, to destribute better. At end of your shower or bath, rinse very lightly with tepid or cold water just to dilute a little. Curessence like most conditioners, does incidentally lubricate, but that is not what it is really intended for. You would have probably had better success with Deep Penatrating High Energy Hair Revitalizer although I find alot of people have a hard time figuring out how to use that as it is thick. Alot of Curressence wont hurt your hair, and will probably have long term benifits, but it will most assuredly make it sticky and prone to mat up. Next time you have dreds, lubricate dry hair with oil and then brush before you shampoo. That should do the job.

My husband and I just spent four days in Jamaica and I had some real hair trauma. My hair is a few inches from my waist and is very wavy. I made sure to coat it well with Aveda Curessence and braid it before going into the ocean. One night, we were in a hurry to meet friends for dinner, so after washing and conditioning, I didn't take the time I should have to properly detangle and dry my hair. I combed through it marginally and let it air dry. Well, by the end of the evening, I had one huge dred lock in the back of my head! I don't know if it was due to the humidity or what, but I was all tangles and snarls. One of the friends with us is a hairdresser and she had no idea how I could get it out. She suggested some sort of silicone product, which I've been trying not to use. Since I was desperate, I washed my hair, and decided to use Curessence as a leave-in to help me work through the snarls. Anyone who's used Curessence knows it's far too heavy to use as a leave-in, but it truly saved my hair in this instance. It took me about 1/4 of a bottle and one full hour, but I was finally able to comb through my hair again. I blew it dry and straight and left it down for the evening. My hair was a bit sticky to the touch, but was very shiney and smooth. I definitely learned my lesson in this instance and really credit Curessence with saving my hair!