Curly hair - hairdresser advice please

[UnfinishedSymphon]

Posting for traffic

I have naturally frizzy curly hair, it only ever looks nice if I leave it to air dry, which I can't really do in the mornings before work. I've been blowing it straight and then using straighteners to create more defined smooth curls.

Since the lockdown, I've been letting my hair air dry as much as possible but I seem to have lost the bulk of my curls, it hangs in almost straight pieces with the odd curly bit. Can too much curling with straighteners cause this? Will I get my curly hair back?

@UnfinishedSymphon Sorry, not a hairdresser. My hair is curlier since I started following the curly girl method.
There's a Facebook page Curly Girl UK Support Group, you'll get loads of good advice on there. Straightening can pull your natural curls out and heat damage doesn't help either.
I hope you get your curls back!

I'm not a hairdresser but I can vouch for the curly girl method and using a diffuser to dry really helps as well.

I have curly hair and I agree with the pp, blow dry with diffuser. But before you do, tilt your head forward, and scrunch your hair with some hair mousse and then blow dry.
Use a shampoo and conditioner for curly hair (I use curly wurly by lush) and perhaps a teeny tiny bit coconut oil on the ends

I have very curly hair. You cant change the curl by too much straightening because its the shape of your hair follicle that makes it curl. What does make a difference is if it grows and is heavier. Mine is wild if cut short, but a long top layer weighs it down straighter. Also moist atmospheric conditions wizz up the curl/frizz. I use a lot of serum/ marroccan oil

My understanding is that the heat damages the hair which can agge t curl. There's lots of blogs where people have stopped straightening their hair and how long it takes to get back to the right condition to help with the curl.

Pp is right about the weight of your hair pulling curl out too.

You need moisture in your hair by the sounds of it. And lift. I find hairdressers clips helpful to lift the root.
I go to a curly hairdresser. I'd really recommend trying to find one of you can. Obviously, when they're open again!

Follow Spring is in the hair and only curls London on insta.

Another recommendation to try CGM. I don't have curls, more like waves with a few more ambitious pieces, but it's much healthier since I stopped stripping it to death with shampoo (about a year ago). I co-wash (with conditioner) 2-3 times a week and always let it air dry. I don't bother with all the styling products because I don't like the feel of them in my hair, but it's still much less frizzy than it was because it's in much better condition - I can't believe how dry it looks in photos from last year compared to now.

Look it up and try it - no better time than lockdown! I'm not strict about it but think the basic principles are no heat, no shampoo, and just use conditioner to wash your hair, so scrub your scalp gently with your fingers to cleanse, using a light conditioner to make it more slippery. When you rinse it out, the conditioner lifts the dirt away. There is loads of stuff about products and different approaches to the method - you could easily come up with a 20-stage process if you wanted - but just keep it really simple and see how your hair gets on.

And if it doesn't work for you, give up!! But do give it a fair chance - a few weeks at least.

I also have a dry, itchy scalp for which I have steroid lotions - CGM hasn't magically cured it but stopping using shampoo has alleviated some of the dryness so it's a bit less itchy.

Another one advocating the curly girl method!

I've recently started it. My maternal grandfather has lovely curls, my Mam inherited his hair but with a lot of frizz which only curled nicely with time, effort and a diffuser. I inherited Mam's hair, but with a lot of frizzy waves which occasionally had a nice beachy look and the odd curl. Some sections mostly straight, some wavy and some wavier sections.

I recently started the CGM and am seeing defined waves all over for the first time ever.

CGM looks daunting but gets results. I have found this site and list of suitable products helpful: likelovedo.com/2019/04/curly-girl-method-uk-products-from-drugstores-and-supermarkets/

If you want to try it, I recommend the As I Am cleansing conditioner for co-washing - it cleanses really nicely, but doesn't give that dry flaky feeling stripped feel that you get with sulfate shampoos.

You can also use a low poo shampoo sometimes to remove build up, or if you don't get on with co-washing - I have Noughty's wave hello shampoo which is very gentle and it smells lush.

Lockdown is a great time to start the CGM as no-one can see your transition hair

Are you in need of a cut and thinning? The longer and thicker my hair is the straighter the top is due to the weight and bulk pulling on it. If you put weight on a spring it pulls it straighter, your hair is just the same,

docs.google.com/document/d/1Q6Dj9WAZxlfBhJSyS5on2rw3-if5cOV3oV-dQ3B0AHA/edit#heading=h.rozroh94iv68

I only started reading it yesterday, but this seems to have so many answers for "I have curly hair hellllllpppppp" types!