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.

My advice is to add moisture. I use mousse and leave some conditioner in it, scrunch dry and get ringlets.

😆

🤣

I have exactly the same hair.

Curly girl type products and method without the 'plopping' bit works well to give me loose waves.

I prefer it straighter so I can brush it. I use the Wow spray and dry with the revlon big hot brush. It needs both heat and tension to activate the Wow but it does keep the frizz away for says.

Try this: https://tappermade.com/product/kelpie-shampoo-bar-for-curly-hair/ . I tried Merwave and loved it but couldn’t afford to keep buying it. This bar has similar ingredients including the wheat protein my hair responds so well to. So far so good!

I have very fine but thick 2C/3A hair for reference.

I think your hair looks lovely OP!
anyway, I have wavy frizzy hair - sometimes it can look good after a hair mask, but in the summer or rain it get really curly and frizzy.
i now do a home keratin treatment every six months or so.
i used a wide barrelled tong this time instead of straighteners, really pleased.
its glossy, flatter, sleek, but still wavy.

Not what you asked but I think your hair is beautiful.

A lot of people recommend the curly girl method but not all hair likes all the products. I'm in a sub reddit for curly hair and people post their routines. Some people find shampoo only works, others a 2in1.

Personally I use a curly shampoo, currently cantu and a bog standard conditioner. I used my daughter's elvive for extra volume and my hair look really good.

I've only recently realised that I have wavy hair OP - for years I straightened it and just ignored how it went if I left it to dry naturally.

My DD has wavy/curly hair and it's made me realise that my hair is actually quite similar to hers! I have a natural wave but if I embrace it, I just look a bit unkempt...

I was actually wondering about having a light beach waves type perm. At least that would commit to the curl and give proper waves rather than just being half-straight, half-not!

I was thinking blowtorch, which seemed a bit extreme!

Mousse users: can anyone recommend a mousse that doesn’t leave hair feeling sticky? I can tolerate the feel of gels and creams on my hair, but mousse always leaves me feeling sticky and like I have to wash it out!

I like Pantene, curl whip is also good.

My hair was similar and the thing that made a massive difference was stopping dry brushing it. I only ever brush it when I have conditioner in now.

Layers help too, scrunching dry with an old cotton tshirt or with a microfibre towel then allowing it to air dry and If I want it to look particularly good I use a tiny bit of curl cream (morrocanoil is my favourite) after towel drying

I didn’t get on with the Brazilian blow dry, but I have a Hair Botox treatment every 6 weeks that really helps reduce frizz and relaxes the curl in my pretty curly hair. if you are as lazy as I am it’s worth a go.

(it’s not Botox obvs - it’s a conditioning treatment that the hairdresser seals into your hair with straighteners)

There are many methods on here, I’d try a couple if I were you - I think it’s very, very unlikely a perm is necessary.

For whoever was asking about mousse I use -

Currently:

Wella V05 shockwaves No.3 curl or No.5 volume mousses in red bottle with yellow writing and green writing respectively.

L'Oréal dream lengths waves waterfall mousse in an orange and pink bottle.

Previously:

My Hair Matters mousse in the white bottle with the green writing.

Pantene perfect waves mousse No.3 in a white bottle with orange writing.

My favourite is the Pantene one if it's not raining and the Wella No.5 if it is. I don't have to layer either of these with another product.

The My Hair Matters one works well but only if layered with a cream, it's too light otherwise and the L'Oréal one sort of works ok but has castor oil which isn't great for my hair. The L'Oréal one says it's for wavy hair. I've got full on curls which is perhaps why it isn't the best for me.

I have hair very similar to yours, I have to wash it and let it air dry for about an hour before I start to dry it.
I can massively reduce frizz by doing the following:
Wash with Frizz Ease shampoo, I think shampoo makes a big difference
Towel dry before conditioner - 💯vital!
Use John Frieda miraculous recovery hair mask ever time I wash my hair - twice a week, any more than that and the frizz gets worse.
Use a Wetbrush to distribute conditioner
Use a wrap towel for 10 mins, then air dry for an hour
Apply Moroccan Oil
Blow dry on medium heat, medium blow, section by section - with a round brush with long bristles so it ‘grabs’ my hair.
Once dry, smooth over with Revamp ceramic hot brush with retractable bristles.
Apply one drop of oil throughout dry hair midlengths and ends
Spray with Frizz Ease Moisture Barrier hairspray
If I’m being really fancy in night out mode, I put in big Velcro rollers (with clips, not roughed at roots to get them to stick, that creates more frizz!) after the hot brush smooth of each section, then spray with FE MB hairspray.
Its not as awful as it all sounds and I do only do it twice a week😂

Following just because I have this exact hair. It’s a nightmare. The only thing I’ve found that does anything is putting sock curls in when you blow dry it.

My hair was a bit like that a couple of weeks ago, probably due to lots of swimming. I had a decent trim (well, she butchered my fringe but the lengths were ok 😂). Then I wash and conditioner as usual, put into a turban for a while, then comb and put argon oil on the hair but only from the ears downward, not the top as it tends to make it look greasy.
ive also used some VO5 hot oil - isn’t that expensive nowadays? used to be much cheaper.
its like different hair this week.

This thread is saved ! Can’t wait to try some of your suggestions on my hair!

Thanks so much everyone for all the replies! (which I haven't ignored, just too busy to read everything).

Methane had me VERY confused at first but I was even willing to try it 😂

I'm both hopeful and a bit muddled as to what to try as there's so many great suggestions here. I should have taken a photo of the bottom half of my hair as it's got more curl/wave underneath but I see what you're all saying about it being wavy, not curly.

I'm really keen to try a few of these things out, but one of my main issues is I really don't want to spend a tenner on a bottle of product I use twice before decided I hate it. Does anyone know where you can get samples of any of this?

It can take a while for heat damaged hair to repair itself so I don't think samples is the way to go. That's expecting a quick fix.
I buy things, use them if I like them or not, then if I didn't like it I don't buy it again. This is mainly for environmental reasons, if I've bought something I don't want to waste it and send it unused to landfill, but it would also get expensive. I sometimes plait my hair and on those days any styling product will work to control fly-aways. Shampoo can be used instead of hand soap or to clean the toilet bowl. Conditioner works instead of shaving foam for my legs.

It's usual to have more than one curl pattern across your head. Also the hair on top is 5+ inches longer than the hair at the nape of your neck (if it's blunt cut one length across the ends) and the extra length can weigh the curls down and pull them out straighter. The hair on top gets more sun, wind, possibly more focus from heated tools when styling etc which can all leave it more damaged than the hair underneath. If you give it time to heal it may start to curl up more.

I have your hair and a good cut is a game changer.

Look for travel-size products!

My hair is similar and I mainly get annoyed and straighten it but it doesn't really suit my face - maybe I should try again. I just get annoyed at anything taking more than 10 minutes.

The only time I like it in its natural state is when I swim in cold fresh water - but a cold shower doesn't seem to have the same effect!