My hair is absolutely doing my head in, absolutely untameable frizz, help?

[PuffballFrizzball]

I have what can be just about tamed into curly hair for few hours with a lot of time/faff/products. However no matter what I do, it turns back into unmanageable bushy frizz within about 2 hours.

I think it's partly genetic, my family are Jewish and all the older male relatives have hair that resembles an afro if they don't keep it short, and I know my aunts tend to do chemical straightening. The photos of my dad from the 70s are quite something 🤣

For nearly 20 years I avoided the issue of how to maintain my hair entirely by having dreadlocks, which just needed a bit of maintenance at the roots every couple of weeks and that was that. Now, for many reasons, they've been cut short (they were almost down to my knees) and painstakingly combed out to about shoulder length and the damaged ends trimmed off. But now I'm back in the unmanageable frizz stage 😬 Nothing seems to work for more than a few hours, it is just wild and I really hate it.

I watch curl videos and do everything they say and it just doesn't last, it'll look great for an hour or two and I'll think I've cracked it and then as soon as I go outside or pull it back off my face with a band for a few minutes or just move around a bit it just goes BOOOOOF again. Basically I'd be thrilled if it looked as good as the "before" images that curly hair products show, never mind the amazing "after" images!! It literally seems to stick straight out from the sides of my head.

I've got a really busy life and a child with additional needs, I don't own a hairdryer and I simply don't have time to be faffing around trying to make my hair half decent several times every day. I just want it to calm the fuck down 😔 Hoping as it grows longer the weight might calm it a bit? Or can anyone suggest any miracle methods/products?

I have curly frizzy hair on top and straight hair underneath.

I used to get a keratin treatment every six months to straighten my hair at the hairdresser but honestly I really could not be bothered with being at the hairdresser for 2.5 hours at a time and it was making my scalp itchy and thinning my hair.

I tried curly hair products and merwave for wavy hair; good on the curly bits but did nothing for the straight part underneath. I looked like a poodle.

so now I wet set my hair with setting lotion and Velcro rollers a la vintage 1940s and it works for me: straightens out the frizz and gives body to my straight parts underneath. I use a soft hood bonnet attachment to my hairdryer to speed up drying time. I used olaplex no 7, pomade to style. Merwave shampoo and conditioner.

learnt not to go to bed with wet hair in curlers.

Could you post a picture of your hair? You can blur out your face of course.

I have incredibly fluffy frizzy hair. I had a Brazilian blow dry years ago and it just made it easier to straighten with straighteners. I couldn’t wear it curly.

I use L’Oréal Invisihold gel and a dab of Boots pink curl cream underneath it. I put the products on soaking wet hair and gently scrunch out the excess water with a microfibre towel or tshirt. I let it air dry until nearly dry and scrunch in more gel. That seems to make it look fairly ok. I think you need to reduce the creams to nothing or very little and use strong hold gel.

Straighteners. And a few products. That’s it. Straightening hair doesn’t mean creating straight as sticks hair. You can create loose waves so your hair still has body.

Straighteners smooth the hair, it looks less poofy and with the help of products it will stop the frizz. It looks styled and smart.

You can then brush it daily. I hate leaving my hair curly as I can’t brush it in between washes as it just looks mental. A good brush gets rid of loose hair and spreads natural oils.

Products wise, a heat protector spray, a hair oil, sometimes I use a good quality mousse to help maintain the style.

Once my hair is dry - air dry - it takes about 20 minutes to straighten with waves. Lasts 3 days. Easy.

Brazilian blow dry will change your life - for £200 and four months at a time

i keep my hair between my earlobe and chin (so in essence short) i get it layered and trimmed every 6-8 weeks. thankfully my hairdresser is italian knows how to cut curly hair, works from home, and is very reasonable.

I use hair oil to finish my hair. It was dead cheap, around a fiver. You only need a tiny amount so the bottle lasts for ages

Returning to this to report that I found what works! Curlsmith Frizz Rescue range. The shampoo, conditioner, and gel. Plus the Umberto Giannini curl foam.

Between them, these products have turned my hair into silky tumbling curls. I actually thought that was impossible!!

Check the products you’re using don’t contain any silicones. Dimethicone is the usual one used. It coats your hair and prevents the conditioner from moisturising your hair.

Unfortunately, with curly hair, what works for some people doesn’t work for others. I can’t use anything with coconut or coconut oil as that really dries my hair out. Weirdly, a lot of hair oils do too.

I use Umberto Giannini Curl Jelly Wash, then Living Proof No Frizz Conditioner followed by Living Proof No Frizz Styling Cream. Living Proof do have a curly range, but that doesn’t work on my hair 🤷‍♀️