 Hey curlfriends, I'm Bianca Renee and you're watching Bianca Renee Today and today we're gonna talk about our summer curly hair routines because as you might realize when the weather changes, so does our hair and so should our curly hair product choices. So I could do a video on my wash day routine showing you my summer hair routine but it doesn't really matter. What is more important is your summer hair routine depending on where you live. So if you live in a dry climate or a humid climate, y'all are gonna have very different preferences on your products because of the humidity in the air, the lack of moisture or the dew points. Now I probably could do a whole video on dew points, something I've just kind of recently learned but I did learn that here in sunny California we kind of have like the ideal dew points where it's not humid and it's not too dry, it's just kind of like neutral. So that is why I'm able to get away with using a lot of different products with different ingredients because my hair is kind of just like in a neutral state. So today's video is sponsored by Curlsmith. So not only am I gonna give you tips on your summer hair routine and explain what ingredients you should look for, I'm also gonna tell you what Curlsmith products will work best for where you live. So the first ingredient that we often hear in correlation to humidity is glycerin. Glycerin is an ingredient that kind of gets a bad rep. It has good intentions but in the wrong location it can kind of really mess up your hair. So glycerin is kind of like the gemini of curly hair product ingredients because like one day it could be really cool and the next day it could be crazy. So glycerin is actually made to help draw moisture into your hair. Since curly hair is often very dry you would think that's a good thing, like okay, go ahead, grab away. But depending on your porosity and where you live that could be a bad thing. So if you live in a humid area, Florida, New Orleans y'all got a lot of humidity going on. That's a lot of moisture in the air. So if you have glycerin, the grabber in your hair it's gonna start grabbing all that moisture. But because there's so much moisture in the air it's going to make your hair follicles swell. Like overflow with moisture to where it doesn't know where to go so now it's like limp and soggy and lifeless and frizzy. All the things we don't want our curly hair to be. Especially if you have high porosity hair your doors are already wide open. So you have doors open and you got the grabber and your hair is just like what is going on? So that is where glycerin can be a bad thing for you. But then if you live in a dry area and you got the grabbers it's too dry. There's no moisture in the air. It's just dry as the desert. So now people in Nevada, Arizona y'all ain't got nothing to grab which is also causing a negative effect on your curls. So I went on Instagram and I asked all of you because luckily I have a very diverse audience y'all are all over the place. And like yeah I can assume what works best in humidity but I wanted to just ask the source. Nothing is better than getting real responses from real people so I can get real results to give you really good product recommendations. And I asked for those of you that live in a humid area what is the best gel that works on your hair that actually fights humidity and keeps your curls defined and frizz free? And the number one answer that I kept reading was the curl Smith in shower style fixer. So I was like, hmm, let's check the ingredients. So I checked the ingredients and I see that the third ingredient is glycerin. So I was like wait, my theory is ruined. How could this be so good and has such a great hold but has glycerin in it? There has to be an explanation. So I busted out the laptop, did some more scientific research and studying AKA Googling and YouTube video watching and I have now discovered my new favorite ingredient called polyquats. Polyquantinerum, it's a big word but it does a lot of big things. So let me just read you the actual definition of a polyquat which is the abbreviation of polyquantinerum. So it's a positively charged polymer that helps improve shine and softness while reducing frizz, breakage and split ends. Okay, you're my new best friend, you do all the things I want you to do. These molecules make great conditioning agents and are especially useful for damaged, chemically treated or high porosity hair which is negatively charged. Positive, negative, go together. Polyquats typically work by forming a protective film around the hair which made me go hmm, meaning they strongly bind to negatively charged hair especially bleached or chemically treated hair. So if you want your hair to hold for days and not be affected by humidity that's what you want to use. So technically, polyquats kind of sound similar to silicone because it's creating like this little coating on our hair. So that made me go hmm, do I like you? Let's keep reading. So then I learned about all the different types of polyquats and then I found polyquantinerum 69. This one in particular is a primary hold agent in many of our gels and mousses. But this one in particular is water soluble and does not adhere as tightly to the surface of the hair which means it's suitable for all hair and should be easily removed with the most methods of cleansing. So I was like, okay, there we go. It does create like a little bit of a coating for protection to block the grabbers from grabbing too much humidity letting the humidity mess up and frizz our hair but it's also easily washed out unlike most silicones. So polyquantinerum 69 acts as a water repellent on the hair surface. It prevents moisture absorption from the air which is exactly what humidity does for long periods of time. So I was like, okay, I'm liking this polyquantinerum 69. What else do I need to know? So I'm gonna read one more thing. In a laboratory test, they sampled hair in an 80 to 90 degrees humidity area, right? And they used the other polyquats like PVP, VP of Yale. I'll give you guys a whole list so you could check. And then they tested it against those that have polyquantinerum 69. And the ones that didn't have it, like just used like a normal gel that did not have that ingredient, their hair got frizzy in that humidity in one hour. That is the worst thing we could do is have a whole wash day. We go outside and our hair is ruined in one hour where polyquantinerum 69 maintained its hold for 90% after 24 hours. So I said, okay, what products have polyquantinerum 69? So I grabbed my Curlsmith inch shower style fixer again. First ingredient is water. You always want the first ingredient to be water. But the second ingredient is polyquantinerum 69. I was like, oh, I knew it. I knew I could trust you. I knew there was a reason. So then I kept checking and I checked my other favorite, the fragrance free shine gel level nine, first ingredient water, second ingredient, polyquantinerum 69. So because polyquantinerum 69 is before glycerin, that kind of balances it out. So now you're getting like the moisture from the glycerin in the products. But most importantly, you're getting polyquantinerum first, meaning there's more of it, which is giving us that protection over our hair. I can't tell you, I was just so excited. It's like when you're rooting for your favorites and they come through scientifically, it just makes life easy. So then I went to Instagram and I asked you guys, okay, if you live in a dry climate, what are the best gels for you? And not many of you said the inch shower style fixer or the shine gel. So that made me think like, hmm, maybe the glycerin being that high up there is not the best thing for your curls. So then I checked the scalp line. And if you look at these ingredients, glycerin is very low on the ingredient list. So it's still in here, but it's like the 19th ingredient on the weightless air dry cream, on the hydro style flexi jelly, and even the hydro cream soothing mask. So in conclusion, if you live in a dry climate area, I would recommend the scalp line for your curls and if you live in a very humid area, I would recommend the inch shower style fixer and or their fragrance free shine gel. This is what you need. You absolutely have to put that last sealing coat over your hair or your hair is going to get frizzy. So after reading more about this magical ingredient, the Polyquantanerum 69, I've read that it creates a very strong hold. It might feel stiff and crunchy at first, but you're able to break the cast by scrunching it and getting soft curls. Very true. It's what I have in my hair right now. My curls are soft, but super defined because it does create that gloss coating. It also makes your hair shiny, which is also true. And it does a great job at fighting humidity. So now that I know that this is my new like favorite ingredient, I'm going to look for this ingredient anytime I ever buy a gel. Cause that way I'll just know that I'm going to like it. Okay, so now let's backtrack to our full summer wash routine. Let's say you're on vacation. You're swimming in the pool every day. You're going to the ocean. Should you wash your hair every day? Well, you do want to rinse out all that stuff cause chlorine is really bad for your hair. Sea water, like all these things are just, they're just not good for your hair, period. And you might say like, what can I do to avoid it? I mean, you could do things to make it not as bad. But at the end of the day, if you're going to play in mud and you're asking me how not to get dirty, you're playing in mud. You're going to get a little dirty. So I wouldn't recommend using a sulfate shampoo every single day. That's going to be very stripping on your hair. Your hair is already dry in the summer. So you want to get as much moisture in as possible beforehand. So instead of using a regular shampoo every day, I would suggest switching to co-washing during the summer. My absolute favorite co-wash is the Curlsmith Curl Quenching Conditioning Wash. This is basically like a shampoo conditioner mix. So you're still getting that moisture from conditioner, but the cleansing of a shampoo. So if I was on vacation, I mean I wouldn't take this jumbo size cause my suitcase would be 50 pounds. But they do have travel size, keep that in mind. And I would just co-wash just to get that chlorine and sea water out of my hair. Then once I got home or maybe on the last day of my trip, once I'm done swimming and stuff, then I would do like a deeper cleanse and do the three step scalp recipe line. That means their primer, followed by the wash and scrub detox probiotic and the post biotic calming conditioner. These just have great ingredients from apple cider vinegar to hyaluronic acid, peppermint oil, lavender, like just all the good stuff to get a really good clean from your hair. But because you did all that swimming and chlorine and stuff, you could be facing some damage. So to protect your hair, to re-bond it, to restore it, I would also start off with the Curl Smith Bond Curl Rehab Sol. This is going to be the step one of your wash routine. So you apply this on your hair, while it's wet, let it sit for a good 20 minutes. It does have protein in it so it's gonna help repair your hair. After you rinse out your Bond Curl Rehab Sol, then you do the scalp line. So during these summer months, it's even more important to deep condition. You should be doing it wiggly anyways, but if you're not, start now. So the Curl Smith has three different conditioners for you to choose from. If I go from moisture to super moisture, I would say the multitasking conditioner. This is a leave-in, rinse-out, or deep conditioner. So maybe on vacation, you could take this one to do multiple things with it. Or if you're just gonna sit down and let it all soak in, there's the Hydro Cream Soothing Mask with a double cream deep quencher. This one I would say is even more moisturizing than the scalp recipe. But chlorine, seawater, all that stuff will strip the moisture from your hair. So it's so important to deep condition and these are two of my favorites just in general. They also smell amazing. So once you're done deep conditioning, then you're gonna add your stylers. Humidity or dry, you do want moisture in your hair. You don't wanna just run from all moisture because then your hair's just gonna be dry in the hot sun. So we wanna focus all of our humectants, glycerins, oils, butters into our hair first so that we have the moisture. If your hair already has moisture, it won't go out looking for more. That's already full. I like to compare this to my skin. I have very oily skin. So back in high school, I used to not want to wear moisturizer because I was like, my hair is greasy enough. Why would I add a lotion on top of the grease? It's just gonna be too much. But that actually is the opposite of what you should do because my skin is creating more oil because it's dry. So just like with our hair, if it's already moisturized, it's not gonna go out looking for more moisture in the air. So that's why during the summer, I am gonna be using more leave-in conditioners. My favorite curls with leave-in is the Weightless Air Dry Cream. This one has scent. If you want basically the same thing without scent, you can get the fragrance-free Shine Cream. Both great options, both very lightweight, will not weigh down my hair. Then for protection, I would add in the Curlsmith Miracle Shield. This is one of the newest Curlsmith products came just in time for the summer to literally protect our hair from UV rays, chlorine, styling, heat tools, sea water, brushing, all the things that we do a lot of during the summer. So you spray this on your hair after your leave-in conditioner. So now we have our moisture from our deep conditioners, our moisture from our leave-in conditioner. Then we have our protection from our shield. Now we want to seal it and that's where we go back to our gels. If you live in a humid area, you cannot, you cannot skip the gel part or gel or mousse, okay? If you have one that has a strong hold, you need the hold and you can't be afraid of the crunch. I would even say, don't scrunch it out. If you live in a humid area, I don't even think I would say to put an oil as like another sealant because that could also break your cast. I would leave the house crunchy because I promise you, the atmosphere will break down that crunch real quick. So your hair will be soft and fluffy regardless, but at least you're starting from like a harder point. So don't be afraid of the crunch, it's only temporary. And if it stays hard when you go out, you could just scrunch it and get beautiful curls, but you need hold, you need hold in humid areas. Now going back to dry climates, moisture is your number one thing. So you did your deep conditioning, which you definitely want to do once a week. Even if you aren't on vacation, I would opt in for co-washing more than just using a stripping shampoo. I would not recommend sulfates at all for your hair because your hair is just going to be too dry. You add in your leaving conditioner, then you add on your miracle shield to protect your hair from the UV rays. And then I'd add your cream style or the hold me softly style balm. This one has a lot of oils in it and you want all that oil, all that moisture in your hair. The third ingredient is coconut oil. There is avocado oil, fruit oil, apricot oil, lot of moisturizing things in here, which you can expect from the moisture recipe line, all the ones with the orange stripe. So after all your moisture is in there in a dry climate, then I could suggest adding an oil as your final sealant over your hair. This is the Curl Smith fragrance free shine oil or their bonding oil. And that'll just give you one more layer of protection and more importantly, locking in all the moisture so the sun doesn't dry out your hair. But in humid weather, I probably skipped the oil because I need that cast. Now my final summer humidity tip for you is to not leave the house with your hair wet or even slightly damp. You need to wait until your curls dry enough to have that cast. Otherwise, you're literally going out into the moisture air with wet moisture on your hair and your hair strands will definitely swell up and just be frizzy instantly. You have to diffuse your hair if it is not fully dry. As many of you know, Curl Smith has dropped their very own blow dryer and diffuser. So I would use this to make sure my hair is completely dry before stepping out the door. And because you have made it this far into the video to learn about how to take care of your hair during the summer. And because I also recently hit 600,000 subscribers here on YouTube, I am going to give away a brand new Curl Smith blow dryer and diffuser just for you. So if you'd like to win your very own Curl Smith blow dryer and diffuser valued at $180, all you gotta do is like this video, make sure you're subscribed and leave me a comment. Let me know if you live in a dry climate or a humid climate. For an extra entry, you can follow me on Instagram as well at Ms. Bianca Renee. I'll be checking. So those are all of my summer curly hair tips for you in correlation to my favorite Curl Smith products. I hope this helped you figure out which ones are gonna be best for you and what ingredients to look out for and or avoid. Before you go, let me give you a list of things to screenshot so you have them. Wait till I smile, okay? Wait till I get cute. But here is a list of humectants. These are the ingredients that like to pull moisture from the air. Here is a list of film forming humectants. Did you get the screenshot? Don't make me look crazy. Don't make me look crazy. Now film forming humectants are actually gonna be the better types of humectants to choose from because they give you that moisture but also create that film which will help block out too much of that grabbing from the moisture and humidity. And that made me realize that's why I like so many products that do have aloe vera or my homemade flax seed gel because I'm still getting that hold but also the moisture. And here is a list of anti-humidity polyquats and polymers that are gonna really help block out any humidity. And don't forget my favorite, Polyquantiniram69. If you enjoyed this video, make sure to give me a thumbs up and subscribe. I post new videos every Sunday. You also can follow me on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter at Ms. Bianca Renee. I'll see you guys next time. Thanks for watching Bianca Renee today.