Can anything actually be done with this hair?

[Slightlysimi]

This is my hair drying naturally after about 1.5 hours. Still a little damp underneath.

It has a natural curl but ultra frizzy, as you can see. Is there actually any products or treatment that would genuinely help take it so I could avoid drying and straightening every time I wash it?

Im sick of spending money on products that promise the world and do sweet FA.

Me too! I thought Oh! At last! A radical new solution!

Haha - me too! I had visions of having to hang around in a field of cows though 💨

I don’t think that the Curley girl method would work as OPs hair is wavy, not curly.

I've always wondered, how do you stop having a brazillian blow dry? What happens if you decide you can't or don't want to keep having them? Do you jut have to live with the grow out period and have frizzy roots and straight ends?

Questions questions!

Me three 😂😂.

OP, I have very similar hair when dry and brushed. I'd try using a silicone free gentle shampoo and conditioner. Something like this shampoo and this conditioner for example. After you've rinsed, apply a tiny bit of the conditioner to soaking wet hair on the mid lengths and ends, don't rise out. Then scrunch in a handful of this mousse - it's cheap, works and doesn't leave your hair crunchy. Then scrunch out any excess water (some mousse will be scrunched out with the water - that's fine).

You can squish your hair with a t-shirt (not a towel) a bit to remove more water. Try not to brush or rake your hands through your hair unless it's soaking wet and don't brush or rake through after you've applied styling products. Then air dry or carefully diffuse (try not to move the hair drying around too much as this will create frizz, just let your hair sit in the diffuser).

You could also look up some videos on curly hair styling which will help with a few techniques. My experience is you don't have to spend a lot - the techniques will make more difference than the products. One key thing is to apply styling products to sopping wet hair.

Here's a good, simple example of some wavy hair styling: https://youtube.com/shorts/NSr1PBTkMlk?si=9pkCADTHapiW8Drs

Curly girl method is sometimes a bit much for wavy hair.
Does it go curly when the air is damp?
Id try a little cantu curl cream. It's very moisturizing and can turn the frizz to beachy waves

Similar hair here. I wash and condition, rinse, comb through when still soaking wet, apply a big handful of mousse throughout from roots to tips and leave it. You need the curls to dry into clumps to stop them frizzing. If I even wait 5 minutes from getting out the shower, it can be fatal - I have to style it soaking wet and get the mousse on ASAP. I never towel dry or scrunch it. Once the mousse is on, I don't touch it at all until it's completely dry, then I might break up the clumps slightly. No expensive products needed, I use Wella Shockwaves mousse which is £2-3 a can and lasts weeks. Any oils or creams make my hair flat or stop the curl clumping.

I agree you have to pick a side. I have very similar hair and tried the curly girl method, I held out for weeks hoping my hair would get better but ultimately gave up as it really didn't work for me.

I've now gone the other way and get a Brazilian blow dry keratin treatment every 6 months which leaves my hair smooth.

They just sort of wear off after multiple washes, so you don’t get a straight ends/ frizzy roots situation. More just easy to manage and then one day its starts to get harder again.

🤣

This for sure

I try to smooth/straighten but leave a bit of volume (so not dead straight).

My routine is use this shampoo and this conditioner. I then put it in a turban towel to dry off the excess water. After about 5-10 minutes, I use this serum (subtle smell and leaves a lovely shine) and apply with my hands avoiding the scalp. It is combed through with a wide-toothed comb to evenly disperse it.

Next step is blow dry until it is BONE dry. If I leave a little bit of moisture in, it can frizz.

Lastly I clip it up a while (twisting in a chignon type thing).

It is not perfect but is tamed! I dye my hair regularly to cover up greys so the condition isn't like it was when I was younger.

It’s a temporary solution ! And once u feel like your hair is getting unmanageable again u return and repeat ! But if u really look after your hair and follow up aftercare it should last a few months x

I have similar hair and just boring L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil works well. However, air drying in general doesn't really suit it, even the quickest or 50% blow dry leaves it looking better. So the oil, mostly dry it and then two sections twisted and pinned until dry is my best compromise.

Are you thinking of Japanese permanent straightening? That does have to be grown out.

OP you don't have to do Curly Girl Method if you've got curly or wavy hair. It's not a choice between that or straight hair. Some swear by CGM and insist it works for everyone, but I think it's bullshit personally, ineffective for some people, impractical for others, as well as way too time consuming for a lot of average people living ordinary lives. Though various aspects of it I find helpful.

The main thing is just to remember that if you're using products with silicone in, you'll need a shampoo with sulfate in to remove it, otherwise it'll build up and cause problems. So whilst you can pick and choose aspects of CGM if you want, don't give up sulfate shampoo if you're still using silicones. They're not labelled as such in ingredients either. Majority of them end "cone", "conal", or "xane", but not all. The only way to know for sure is to research every ingredient and keep an eye on the products, because companies have a habit of changing ingredients without warning.

My hair looks like this when it’s brushed out. When it’s wet, I comb out with a wide tooth comb to separate it a bit and then scrunch with a bit of argan oil and let it air dry - it dries in curls instead. I use loads of conditioner and do frequent hair masks which I’d recommend for you as well as it looks dry. I’m currently loving a Curlsmith one called double cream deep quencher that I found at TK Maxx.

But the thing about these curly/wavy styling plans is that they can't be done in the morning before work or in the evening afterwards. Hair needs time to dry and there just isn't enough time either before work/school run - don't want to go in with wet hair - or after work - don't to want to go to bed with wet/damp hair, plus it then looks untidy in the morning but can't brush it b/c then it goes frizzy.

So for me, although it's a pain, straightening is the only way. At least, when I brush it, it jumps into place and looks better or even amazing. I use très semmé heat defense before I straighten.

@tarheelbaby I wash my hair every second day, mornings, 20mins and air-dry in summer, 40mins with blow-drying in winter, hair halfway down my back. Wouldn't be any quicker for me to straighten it, probably take longer actually. I don't use curly girl method. Just regular shampoo, comb conditioner through when wet, wrap in a towel while I clean my teeth then add styling products and comb through again. Blow-dry in winter because otherwise it'd take hours to dry and make me feel cold. Summer it's dry in around an hour so I don't mind going out with it wet.

I have similar and I don't like my hair curly, it doesn't suit me.

My hair is fine and does not suit air drying. A short blow dry helps.

But frankly I have frequent blow dries and that's what works best for me. I've had Brazilian blow dry a few times as well.

I don't use any products so that's probably where I'm going wrong but I can do an ok blow dry on myself and smooth it with straighteners if needed.

I've just got teen DD a Dyson air wrap for her bday so I'm curious to see if that works on my hair as it was £££ so be good if we could share it.

I have the same type of hair as you. It I left it to dry naturally it’d be a frizzy mess! I use Flora & Curl products to keep it moisturised to bring out the waves/curls. I have an activating cream, a gel and volume mousse. Depending on what I’m doing, I can use just the cream, the cream and gel, or all three products. I can leave it to dry naturally if I’m at home or dry my hair with a diffuser if I’m going out. My hair feels moisturised and the frizz is all gone.

The problem with leaving it to dry naturally is you can't guarantee what it'll look like. I've gone out on hot days with wet hair and it's still been wet at roots hours later. I'm like a PP - dry it so there's no moisture and then tie it clip it up for a bit. It looks better after I've slept on it. If I leave it to dry naturally and then sleep on it, it looks awful the next day.

I third this. OP's hair is wavy, not curly so CGM isn't right for it. Curl cream and leave in are likely to too moisturising and/or too heavy for wavy hair.

Your hair looks exactly like mine did about 20 years ago @Slightlysimi, but mine doesn't grow that long before getting tangled and split these days, so I keep it chin length.

A shorter cut might help, but the product I swear by is the Body Shop grapeseed glossing serum. I wash with shampoo, but rarely conditioner, and just comb through a little serum while the hair is wet. I let it dry naturally, and it always looks and feels lovely.

I only ever use heat to dry it when I'm in a hurry, which is to say a handful of times a year.

I have pretty much identical hair and curly girl doesn’t work on me. I’ve tried all sorts of curl cremes, curl mousse and gel, scrunching and diffusing or air drying.

have given up. I do agree that air drying with hair up in a scrunchie is better than heat. I still use mousse, a leave in conditioner, hair oil. I do a mask at least once a week. L’Oréal glycolic serum is very good and smoothing.