To not know how to treat sudden corkscrew curls

Only do anything to curls when wet. Otherwise you break the bonds and get frizz. Don't brush it, don't run your hands through it. Only when wet.

Boots curl creame, it's pink in a clear pot. Brilliant shit, cheap gel mousse. Style when wet, air dry as much as possible. Lots of conditioner. Look up brushes and combs for curly hair types. You can control the curl by brushing different ways. I brush up, for my son it's out to the side. It's trial and error and a good hairdresser who cuts the curl.

Good on you Celeste, for making the effort to help him. I say this as a curly with preraphaelite hair, who spent their teen years as a frizzy silicone styled mess as there wasn't so much knowledge and availability of decent curl products at that time. Curly methods don't have to be complicated or expensive, though it takes a bit of experimenting to find what works - though the rules of no silicon, no sulphate and wet styling only are usually a good place to start.

Where I live atm, curls on top with a taper or fade seems really popular for teen boys.

That's meant to say overwhelming not overnight!

Just remembered also worth figuring out how porous his hair is. As this will effect which products are best for him or how much to use.

Also meant to add in the gel may have gone crunchy whilst drying, it's called a gel cast. But it's not bad, it helps hold the curl and you can use a little oil to separate them and scrunch out the cast!

With the gel, yes it will dry crispy and hard. But then, you scrunch it up and it's lovely and soft again with defined curls. The trick is, try not to mess with it once the gel is in and drying. I use the Umberto Giannini curl gel personally.

You could post a picture from the back of you want most specific advice, or give an area of the country if you want hairdresser recommendations.

As others have said never brush curly hair dry. Wish my parents had known this when I was a child!.
My daughter has similar hair, tight coils. But it's also wavy in places and some strands can be straight. It can be a lot to keep on top of. I think it's pretty normal for people with wavy/curly hair to have several different types of curl pattern on their head. Worth looking up which type of curl pattern he has so you know how best to look after it.

Always brush wet, I've found wide comb the best. you can try the t-shirt method. Where you don't dry with a towel. You scrunch with a t-shirt or microfibre towel rather than a normal towel. It helps prevent frizz.
Then I get a curl creme and rake through hair. Scrunch hair (or you can try finger curl which may help all the curls have a similar shape) and add a little gel. You can then add a frizz spray. Realise that is a lot but once you get in to a routine it can really help. Sleeping with a satin pillow really helps too. Also a little hair oil in the morning. Also in the morning if it's gone frizzy or whatever. Get a water spray bottle, give it a quick spray, add a little curl creme or gel, scrunch and it's a realt quick fix.

Oh also I've found shampoo can really make my hair poof up. I really avoid shampoo as much as possible. I do what's called a con wash (conditioner wash) it still washes your hair but doesn't poof up after. If you really want to shampoo just don't do it as often. Or do conditioner, shampoo and then conditioner again!

Definitely recommend going to someone who understands curls. So many hairdressers don't know how to cut curls.
Also try the curtly girl method for products that work with curls. Silicone free is good. There are also lots of good Reddit groups and video tutorials to help! I know that's a lot and it can seem overnight once you get in a routine and understand it, it gets easier.

Ahhh I'm so glad you're both resisting the 'shave it!!' & 'straighten it!' advice - it's bloody awful.

I can't advise anything as I've poker straight, boring hair. Funnily enough one of my customers came in & his hair was freshly washed & wildly curly (I normally see him after his job) & it looked incredible so I made sure to say so. Apparently his teen son has the same hair & loves it - I imagine that's in no small part down to his dad owning his own curls, though apparently it's a lot of work.

Good luck!

A short back and sides sounds like it would look good, work with the tightly coiled hair on top and mask the different curl patterns. Ie a 'broccoli cut'

My hair went straight to curly when I hit puberty too. Kids at school thought I was a new girl! Hardee for boys though!
I use boots own curl cream £2.99 a big pot of pink stuff that hydrated it and defines the curls.. I wash every other day. But wet it to dampen down the frizz/reactivate the curls when I don't wash it. I rarey brush mine & never when dry.

I wouldn't take him to a barber, I'd take him to a salon that specializes in curly hair.

Look into curly girl method and products, to learn how to manage his curls properly - it's probably hormonal and might be how his hair is from now on so you need to work with it

Find a better hairdresser, not a barber but a unisex place, preferably one that specialises in curly hair & make a restyle appointment with them, explain the issue in advance. Maybe sit down with your son beforehand and find some pics of ideal hairstyles, fashionable with curls. They may not be able to replicate what he wants but a good stylist can hopefully find a reasonable compromise he's happy with, and recommend products and styling to make the most of his hair and get his confidence up. Bet he will look great.

Happened to my DS too and some of his friends. It's definitely puberty related. Lots of them see it as a sort of badge of honour and embrace it. DS wears it longer at the moment so the curls have more weight IYSWIM and uses Aveda curl products. There is a hairdresser near us that says they specialise in curls but we haven't been. I'd go though for a consultation if he wanted a different style.

Definitely hormones. My hair went curly and darker at 13. Menopause made it go straight again.

My DS has similar hair and goes to what you would consider a womans hair salon, but they have multiple staff that are very good with curly hair.
I'd ask around your friends or acquaintances especially if they have curly hair themselves and see who they go to.
My son uses a jelly wash shampoo and a hydration focused spray ( I think it's a garnier product )on wet hair and then a diffuser to dry.

You can get hair chemically straightened, and then dye it blonde again?

You know that's not what she was saying. Curls are hard to manage if you're not used to them!

translation; so he’s now got Afro hair you don’t like it coz he had blonde straight hair? 😶
also at this age it’s for him to manage

Forget a barber, you need to take him to a hairdresser/stylist with experience with curly hair. I'm sure they will be able to inform him of lots of great tips and ways to style.

My DS has good corkscrew curls. He has to keep them reasonably short for school (but still has quite a halo…). He scrunches them all up when wet - never ever brushes - and uses As I Am Leave-In Conditioner and Miss Jessie's Jelly Soft Curls (this is horribly expensive but lasts forever as you only need a tiny bit). He used to use salt spray but that made everything too crispy apparently.

Hi, I have curly hair and agree that one of the best things to do is find a curly hair / Afro hair specialist who will know how to cut it properly - and they will teach your son how to care for it properly. it’s surprising how many high street hairdressers don’t know! The key is to make sure that you wash the hair first and then use a good conditioner which will make sure it detangles properly, rinse it out and then put gel on it while it is still soaking wet - the wetter the better. You can even apply the gel in the shower / bath. Use any gel, the 50p / £1 ones are fine. Then use one of these combs ( will attach pic) or a Bounce Curl Brush (game changer!) to make sure all tangles are out. Then either let it dry naturally or blow dry it with a diffuser, by putting your head upside down and putting each section of hair actually in the diffuser at a time. Move the diffuser regularly to stop the hair getting too hot.

curly hair can get really dry so you often need to ‘hydrate’ it with a good conditioner about once a week, in addition to the conditioner used when washing it. I either use pure coconut oil (which will change from solid to liquid in the pot depending on room temp) or Camille Rose Algae Renew conditioner (both found in the curly / Afro aisle in Superdrug etc). I wash the conditioners / coconut oil off but some people leave them in - it’s personal preference.VO5 hot oil is also really good, put the vial in the bath to heat it up, then apply to the whole head , leave it for a bit, then rinse.

I hope it goes well and your son embraces it - encourage to experiment with a few different looks because how you dry it - upside down , naturally, diffused will affect the final look. Sometimes it will look different from day to day even if you do the same thing - but just go with the flow, that’s the joy of curly hair! Hope this helps x

Yep it's puberty. My DS developed curly hair at the same age - although his had never been poker straight. He likes it but it's pretty manageable and not corkscrew curls. Where we are curly hair seems to be very in for boys.

Google something like men's curly hairstyles and see if there's anything that comes up that DS likes and go to a proper hairdresser.

You don't need to see a curl specialist really or to build some insane curly hair routine (don't come for me curly girl method people!) - I say this as a life long curly haired person. It is however trial and error and there's unfortunately no one method/approach/product that works for all curly hair. You have to find what works for you.