Dear CurlySuzy: I hope you can help me. I have been curly now for five years. I have 4a hair which I get slightly relaxed or texturized about every five months to control the bulk. I used to get it bone straight. I absolutely love my curly hair. My problem is that after spending literally hundreds of dollars on different products, what really works for me especially in reducing bulk, giving me shine and nice curl definition is Kinky-Curly Curling Custard. I love this product. I also use the Knot Today. My problem is this. When I use anything else with this product I end up with tons of white flakes in my hair, and I am not exaggerating. I like to condition wash, and when I use the Come Clean shampoo, I like to use conditioner after. But everything I use seems to produce tons of white flakes. I e-mailed Kinky-Curly and they said to stay away from any silicone products, which they said could possibly be the cause. So have you heard of this problem from others? What conditioners would you recommend? I love my curly hair but this is really getting to me. Please HELP!!
Dear Lucy: I need some clarification. After you wash your hair with Come Clean, you then use a conditioner, then the Knot Today and then the Curling Custard? Do you ever skip the Knot Today and just use the Custard? What I have heard is that the Custard does strange things, mostly involving white flakes or, worse, white clumps (yuck”> when used without the Knot Today. The Custard is a tricky but amazing product. It could very well be reacting to your conditioner if you are not using the Knot Today.
Another bit of information could be that when you are putting the Custard in your curls your hair has to be VERY wet. The Knot Today should be put on VERY wet hair, and then add the Custard. While you are putting the Custard in — if the sections where you have not gotten to are starting to dry, spray that part with some water before you put the Custard on.
If you are using the Knot Today and you are still getting the white flakes, another thought is you might be using too much Custard? In regards to the silicone/conditioner issue, I agree that could be a problem. The build up of the silicone will not allow products to get absorbed into your hair shaft. You curls could be coated with the silicone and then the product flakes and turn white. Here are some silicone-free conditioners below.
Please let me know if any of this is useful. I value Curly information on any product! The Kinky Curly products are really fantastic, the Custard included. It is just tricky.
Silicone free conditioners:
