I need a miracle for my thick frizzy hair!

[MistyQuigley]

Help! I have very thick frizzy hair, if left to dry naturally it is so out of control I couldn't leave the house without tying it up or straightening it.

I feel like I've tried everything, I gave the curly girl method a go in lockdown with absolutely no success, I spent a fortune on olaplex after friends raved about it - it made no difference! I don't think it's actually that damaged so "repair" products don't really do anything. I've tried all the oils etc!

What can I do!? I'm going on my first holiday abroad since before the pandemic soon and would love to not spend half of it straightening my hair.

It's naturally wavy and I'd love to find a way to have wavy hair that's not a frizzy (or crusty!) Or am I destined to a lifelong relationship with my ghds?

Your hair sounds very similar to mine, thick, frizzy and out of control. Is yours kind of curly? Don't brush it when it's dry, no matter what you do. Brushing curly hair is a recipe for frizz. Invest in proper hair products, I've used cheap stuff too long and it's showing.

Try the L’Oréal Steampod hair straightener. Curly girl didn’t work for my friend. She turned out to be allergic to several of the ‘natural ‘ silicon free shampoo conditioners and gels! Brazilian blow dry worked only until she’d walked the length of the street too. If you don’t want to straighten ( and she uses the steampod only to ‘calm the frizz’ not to get hair poker straight) I’d seek advice from black friends and hairdressers who are sometimes more knowledgeable about good products for curly hair of different types.

Thanks for all the recommendations - I think I'm going to try the Brazilian blow dry DIY option! I can't face trying the curly girl method again.

Could anyone recommend which shampoo/conditioner you use before/after the treatment?

Ive had brazilian blow dries qnd they're so expensive. Only thing that worked for me was to wear my hair shoulder length and focus on straightening the front areas the most.

But recently i got it cut in to a shape that is quite 70s. So its sticking up is the shape.
My hair isnt qs curlybas this but it looks ok. Its easier than endlessly looking for a magic conditioner that will make my hair lie flat and smooth.

When you have a BBD what happens to the re growth, does that come though like a frizzy stripe?

No it wears off long before regrowth.

A BB wears off in 3 months, so you don't really get visible regrowth. I guess if you have incredibly curly hair it might show, but it's not obvious on mine which is what I'd describe as naturally scruffy looking (thick, a bit coarse, wavy)

I don't think a BB is good for your hair though - I could imagine that if you had long hair the ends would have gone through a lot of treatments and so prone to breakage.

I never found a wonder treatment/serum/shampoo that tamed my hair. Most of the ones that sounded like they should help (hair masks etc) seemed to make it worse.

Kits I have tried:

www.amazon.co.uk/Brazilian-Straight-Treatment-Straightening-Smoothing/dp/B071NSL46C?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

This one is my first choice - I can only find the top up kit on amazon, and not the starter kit, but all you need to use it is a fine tooth comb, some sectioning clips and one of those brushes that you use to apply hair dye.

I've also tried the cocochoco www.amazon.co.uk/COCOCHOCO-Professional-Gold-Keratin-Straightening/dp/B08F58SQ9S?tag=mumsnetforu03-21 It was fine, but it had a heavy golden glimmer in it, which kind of meant that I had glittery dandruff while I was in the no-washing phase at the start.

I don't buy specialist shampoos to maintain it - the key thing to avoid is salt (sodium chloride) in the shampoo and conditioner. I use Moogoo as my scalp can be really tricky.