To ask for advice on taming curly frizzy hair?

[Thamantha]

I have never known what to do with my hair so for most of my life i have tried to ignore it. It is curly and always frizzy. Looking online tells me it is type 2b or 2c (aka not 2b). After having my son it seems be a wildly different lengths as some must be growing back in after it fell out. I'm really fed up with it and wondered if anyone has any tips?
Does the curly girl method work?
Is there anything you have tried that made a big difference?
Is there anything that is obviously bad for it? I often wash my hair before bed and sleep on it while it is wet, which means it needs extra brushing in the morning as it has dried in an unusual unflattering shape. I literally have no idea about hair care or products.

Why don't you just cut it off?

I just straighten mine.............

Posting to bump. You'd need to speak to a decent hairdresser ideally

I have weird semi-curly, frizzy, thick hair and very little interest in styling it. I wash it every morning and leave it to dry naturally, as I find it's horrendous if I sleep on it. Recently I've started trying a few Curly Girl techniques - wrapping it in a microfibre towel after washing rather than rubbing it dry, and using a cleansing conditioner called As I Am, no shampoo. I think it's helped a bit, not a massive difference for me though. I don't think my hair is really curly enough for it, I'm never going to have beautiful corkscrews!

Hop over to style and beauty on the body and soul board and post your question there. People are much more friendly over there than aibu and I have got loads of tips about my unruly curly hair there. For me switching to Cantú products have really helped.

Also, I never brush my hair as I find that just makes it into an absolute frizz bomb. If I have to I use a wide tooth comb, but generally I find that I don't need to brush it if I shower in the morning.

Don't brush it. This made the biggest difference to me. Wash it and let it dry naturally.

Kerastraight at the salon, expensive but works.

Cantu. I have no clue about hair and spent the best part of forty Jesus l years fighting mine. Bloody miracle, cantu curl cream solved that.

I would definitely look at the curly girl method and at others that are similar but NOT strict curly girl as the proper thing is very strict and not for most people everyone.

One thing that is very important though is that you don't brush it when dry ever - it just multiplies the frizz. Can be combed or gently brushed when you have the conditioner on. So it is wet but very very slippy.

I am still experimenting with what is right for me but never brushing it dry has been a game changer.

You need to invest in good hair products and especially a nice leave in mask. I love the Jamaican Black Castor Oil range from Shea Moisture

I suggest you don't brush it. I would wash in the morning, no more than every second day, use shampoo once a week otherwise conditioner. I use tresemme for both, not expensive but works for me. When it's wet i put on John Frieda curl cream and curl taming gel thing in a pump (various brands). Days when I don't wash it I use boots pink curl creme (1.99 a pot). My hair is a hundred percent better since I started doing these things a few years ago.

DON’T BRUSH IT!

Condition it well and get any tangles out with your fingers when it’s wet then let it dry. If it’s flat in the morning use some curl cream or spritz it with water and use your hands only. No comb. No brush.

The curly girl method is a bit of a faff but possibly worth a try. There’s a UK group on Facebook which is helpful but has a tendency to over complicate things.

Mine was always frizzy and during lockdown I read about curly girl and it is definitely less frizzy since I have been trying their techniques!

DH commented the other day my hair looked good and this is with having to use box dyes too as hairdressers haven’t been open.

I was already using no poo shampoo/conditioners but instead I now:-

Wet hair in shower
With finger tips run conditioner into scalp
Then more conditioner all over hair
Then brush hair
Then turn head upside down and scrunch it to be out of the conditioner back into the hair
Rinse hair
Scrunch water out of hair
Flip head upside down and put hair in microfibre towel
After about 10 mins I then use a cream and scrunch hair with the cream all over (paying attention to the roots)
Leave to dry naturally (usually pin it up loose out of my way until it’s a bit dryer)

So the main differences for me were no shampoo, only brush once it has conditioner on, out the cream /similar on the roots too (before I would have thought it would make it greasy but it doesn’t)

Good luck OP

Don't brush it OP!

I wash mine every third day. When it's wet, brush it and put some product in it. I like boots curl creme or VO5 have a good curl cream. Let it dry naturally or use a diffuser to scrunch it up. After I've slept on it, I either spray water on it (use a gardening water spray bottle!) or wet it under the tap. Then repeat the process.

But don't ever brush it when it's dry!

I have had the same my whole life, I got the custom shampoo and conditioner from some I saw advertised on Facebook. I was skeptical but fed up with always having to straighten it. It totally transformed my hair and I now have tight curls, no frizz. I only wash it about every 5 days and NEVER brush it, maybe every few weeks or so when it is wet in the shower with conditioner in. Function of beauty I think it's called. You do a hair quiz and they custom make it. Total game changer.

curly girl method works for most people yes.

My DC has super curly hair and it’s absolutely beautiful- I never brush, only comb / brush through when it’s wet with conditioner and then I put some spray detangler after. Don’t rub with a towel, only ever blot it then let it dry naturally.

Don’t cut it off or straighten it - at least not until you’ve given curly girl a couple months trial. Anyone I know who’s followed it has transformed their hair. I’ve got fairly curly hair and I followed it just for a few washes and my curls reformed so nicely, I’m just more of a fan of a soft wave so I don’t follow it myself but it definitely works.

Youtube is your friend! Get on, find some beginner tutorials, invest in DECENT products and give it some time!

Good luck!

Dont sleep on it wet, dont brush it. I comb mine when the conditioner is on, towel dry, add product when wet (I use a gel spray type thing) then leave to dry naturally. I also have a silk turban to sleep in which is amazing. Dont wash it too often either and a bit of serum on dry hair is great for getting rid of any over night frizz.
Curly hair can be really easy once you've found what works. But throw the brush away.

Get a keratin smoothing treatment. I had mine done recently.

Decent cut.
Never sleep on wet hair.
Silicone free Shampoo and conditioner.
Silicone free curl product for after washing.
Dry with a cotton tshirt or microfibre towel.
Avoid heat.
Never use a brush.

Definitely look at the curly girl method and experiment. I've rediscovered curls that disappeared at age 3. I always thought I had straight hair with a slight kink and a bit of frizz. Now I've got waves/curls and I love them. I just wish i had discovered this when I was younger!

A Nanokeratin or KeraStraight treatment and then the range of Olaplex products. Miraculous.

I started curling it with straighteners every day and now the natural curl has calmed down hugely and the frizz is basically gone. Wish I'd done it years ago!

Sleep with satin pillowcases helps to keep friction down once dry. Cotton fluffs up hair something rotten. If it needs intense treatment then Shea Moisture also do a yoghurt conditioner which really moisturisers hair. I also use coco and eve which while costly works a treat.