Coarse, curly, wild, crazy hair - what do you use to make it behave?

[Lottapianos]

I'm in need of some product inspiration people! I'm also in need of a haircut - it's been 3 months and hair is looking extra wild, so am booked in at hairdresser on Saturday.

My hair is armpit length, curls beautifully when wet or otherwise well-moisturised but I find it almost impossible to keep it like this when it dries. The curls pull out and turn into waves whenever I tie it up, and I often get a halo of frizz all over. The ends get knotted very easily. At the moment, I shampoo 2-3 times a week with Body Shop Rainforest shampoo (brilliant), then use Body Shop Rainforest Butter as a leave-in, then a bit of Boots Curl Creme on top , then Umberto Giannini gel. I 'plop' it in an old t-shirt, then air dry for ten bloody hours. It looks lovely when its dry, but has turned to a state again by the next day.

I would love to cut down on drying time but have had no success at all with diffusing, I also don't reallly have the time so would just like it to air dry faster, especially coming into autumn/winter. All advice gratefully received (no silicone though, thanks!)

I never dry my hair.
Always leave it. It would be sooo out of control otherwise.
I usually put frizz ease serum in it and then frizz ease curl reviver. Then just scrunch and leave it.
My sister who has completely mad curly hair swears by using loads of mouse to keep it under control.
No way could I go out the next day though without getting it completely wet again.
Must try the coconut oil.
Might help.

I am reading with interest as my hair is a nightmare, very fine but tons of it, and halfway between curly and wavy. Dds is the same, we were away in a humid country and there her hair was beautiful ringlets, here it's back to frizzy and wavy..
I've taken to washing mine every day, but it's not much better. Going to try the curly girl metho as I'm off work for the next 4 weeks, so don't mind if it feels a bit greasy for a while!

My hair is curly but with a halo of frizz and I hate it. I vary between Garnier, Aussie and Kerastase shampoo and conditioner and either Aussie or Kerastase serum. I have to spray it every morning or it looks worse than ever!

I'm going to try glycerine as I find most products make my hair greasy or crispy.

Does anyone use pure, raw shea butter? I bought half a kilo of it for £7.50 from Naissance on Amazon and it arrived today. Out of curiosity I opened it up, warmed a teeny bit between my fingers and smoothed it over my haiir (which was looking a bit ragged, dry, and frizzy today). It instantly looked better - got rid of the frizz and moisturised the ends!

I'm not sure how else to use it - I'd been thinking of it as a leave-in, but it's a lot harder than I'd expected so at the moment I think I might use it more like a wax than a conditioner. Any tips from you frizz-fighting ladies?

monsterowl try using it as a mask before you wash your hair.

I keep it on overnight if I want a deep treatment :)

PinkSparklyElephant- you said products make your hair crunchy, have you read about "scrunch out the crunch"? Basically once your hair is dry, scrunch it gently in your hands. The crispness goes and you are often left with gorgeous curls. I always have to scrunch out the crunch from mousse or gels.

Does anyone find that the hair products affect their skin? I would love to chuck a ton of Aussie or Frizz Ease on my hair (it certainly needs it) but would certainly have massive spots on face/neck/back shortly afterwards. Would appreciate any frizzy hair recommendations that don't affect sensitive skin.

Silicones bring me out in spots too- my hair is wavy and not a lot of it, coconut oil makes it look greasy but works as an overnight conditioner before washing. I find tresemme naturals better than rainforest, aveda is quite good but ££. Does the organix range contain silicones?

Perfect, I didn't know about that, I'll give it a try.

Thank you!

Thanks ShutTheFuckUpBarbara, I'll try that (if I can get it soft enough)! Usually I use coconut oil for this purpose.

Ohanarama I've never had this problem, but I've read that washing your pillowcase frequently helps. I guess the theory is that the hair products rub off on your pillowcase and build up, and you spend the night with your face in them. You could try sleeping only one night on each side of the pillowcase then changing it, and seeing if that helps?

I too have curly hair tending to frizz.I've been straightening it for the last year but have decided in my time off work to try it curly again. I use Body Shop Rainforest shampoo and L'Oreal silicone free conditioner but am not sure what to use after that. Yesterday I used some Aveeno curl cream and it looked great, but today it's gone flat at the back but frizzy on top Will try coconut oil.

Sorry, Aveda curl cream.

Do you plop, imliketotallyummm? I only recently discovered this and find that it makes a big difference: www.wikihow.com/Plop-Your-Hair

No Monster. I'll have a look- not heard of plopping.

I've written about this before but the advice for curly hair is to avoid shampoo with sulphates in ( too harsh and drying ) and conditioner or products with silicone in. Silicone will eventually build up and coat your hair with a barrier that prevents it absirbmoisture

Bugger!

Absorbing moisture.

Last year I went to see Matt James hairdresser who specialises in curly hair. He told me to use Bodyshop Rainforest range which is sulphate and silicone free. My hair is in much better condition now. He's in Birmingham and I highly recommend him!

You can also buy Devacurl products which are designed for curly hair. They're only available on Amazon but you can get a trial size to see if they suit you.

Ditch the Frizz Ease!

After much trial and error I've discovered my best personal formula. It's a lot of faff but worth it.

• soak in coconut oil the night before (for bulk cheap buying buy it from a soap makers online store)

• wash in morning with the bodyshop rainforest or creme of nature sulfate free argan oil shampoo.

• use boots curl creme through hair when very wet with just 2 drops of pure argan oil on end, go really easy with argan oil else you will end up looking like a greasy chip.

-scrunch scrunch scrunch till dry.

Next day - spritz with combo of 9 parts water 1 part olive oil (drop of lavender in spray bottle smells nice) very lightly.

Sometimes it does feel a bit greasy after the olive oil spritz because my hair is so fine so I'm going to try the glycerine. Thanks for that!

I also recommend the Curly Girl Handbook for lots if great curly tips and tricks, including home made conditioning treatments!

Anyone else find their curls go flat at the back but stay curly at the front?

Using my silk pillowcase for first time tonight - it arrived super quickly from Amazon!

I'm currently trying the curly girl Mathis by my hair is very thick albeit just past shoulder length
Unfortunately because I'm not supposed to brush it I now have matted bits underneath that resemble dreads
I then go back to washing my hair with ordinary shampoo , conditioning it , brushing it to get rid OC all the knots and matted bits and then I'm back to square one , plopping , no siliconing again etc
How do I overcome this ?

Sorry for the hijack btw

Shinyshoes2 I am a recent curly girl convert and don't have this problem with detangling - but I think that if I did, I'd just try using a brush regularly and carry on with the rest of the CG process rather than completely go back to ordinary shampoo. But others here might have better suggestions! E.g. I remember someone in another thread saying that she detangled her hair with a comb once it's got conditioner on it ...

Comb through your hair when it has conditioner in it. Preferably with your fingers or with a wide-toothed comb. Never dry.

My curly hair is much less tangled (therefore requiring much less combing) now that I have found the right products for my hair.

Also I comb through my hair with my fingers every day. If I leave it for days on end it gets very tangled.

Jet what products do you use?

I use Tresemme Naturals conditioner for the co-wash.
I use Body Shop Rainforests or Faith in Nature shampoo and conditioner for my weekly wash.
I use organic coconut oil after every co-wash/shampoo and condition.
Finally, I use Naked Leave-in conditioner.

I have learnt two very important things along the way:

1. My long curly hair requires so much more conditioner than I ever imagined.
2. There is a lot of trial and error involved in finding the right products.

What works for one person might not work for another.