How do I make my hair curly all the way up (photo)

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After 35 years of straightening my hair I’ve finally embraced my curls and have been wearing it curly/wavy for the last month. I can’t believe how much easier it is to get ready doing practically nothing to my hair!

I use curl specific shampoo and conditioner, leave my hair proper wet and scrunch some curl cream into it. I then let it air dry and scrunch throughout that time.

My only annoyance is that while wet my hair is curly all the way to the scalp, when it dries, it pulls the hair down I think and around my scalp it loses all the curls.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get it to curl all the way up without spending hours on it?

Thanks!

My hair is wavy not curly so I find lightweight products (mousse, gel) better than heavy curl cream. Also I apply products to soaking wet hair and “glaze” over (with flat praying hands motion) rather than raking product through damp hair which makes my waves go stringy like in your picture.

Being fully honest OP I don’t think you have curly hair. You have a light wave that probably doesn’t naturally reach your roots. Your hair is so beautiful though! I would recommend a lightweight mousse that’s recommended for 2a hair if you want to define your natural wave. Unbertto gianni has one that’s called beach wave?

Yes, I use the flat hands technique too and only a tiny amount of gel

Thank you all so much, I’m so grateful for all the good advice.
@Hoolahoophop yes, my hair sounds similar in that it’s quite fine. Using less and watering it down is a good idea. Thank you
@Dryshampoofordays I will try that method as I definitely find I don’t distribute it evenly and get clumps of product! Stringy is a good description for how it looks now!
@Buffybot12 (love the name) yes, I’m not well versed on the grading of curls but it’s defo in between curly and wavy rather than a full on curl. I will look out for beach wave product! Thanks

im at the hairdressers now waiting to be seen. So will see if shorter hair with more layers also helps

I would not cut layers into curly hair itl drive you crazy. My hair is a lot curlier then yours so these products may work differently (my hair is super super thick and nearly at my waist and the roots curl just fine.

I do this

1. wash and condition as usual. I literally just use any shampoo and conditioner. Brush through your hair when the conditioner is in not after you have washed it out! Style it in the right parting at this point then wash out conditioner under the shower to keep the style the same
2. do NOT dry with a towel. Use a T-shirt to scrunch the water out if you need to
3. apply your products. I brush gently just before doing this. I use a leave in conditioner, then Curl activator then this Mousse I scrunch or “rake” all the products into my hair then air dry

This has taken years of trial and error but finally found a combo that works and doesn’t make my hair crunchy xxx also silk bonnet at night

My hairs about the same as yours when I use the curl products on it, I have it half up half down for this very reason I can’t get the top curly x

Foams or mousses may work better for you at the root.

Depends on the curl to be honest (and the skill of the hairdresser)! I would look like a triangle without layers 😂 With layers my curls behave themselves.

OP, maybe do some research into protein based products like MerWave or the curly shampoo bar made by TapperMade. Turns out my hair (also fine and thick) was severely lacking in protein and sprang right up when I started using it.

I have hair like this. I recommend the following
layers to reduce weight
Umberto curl jelly
Diffuse upside down and make sure roots are dry.
You will start off looking wild but after 10 mins it should settle into a more consistent wave.

This is amazing. Thank you so much. My hair is very very fine but lots of it so I know that layers will add volume without the triangle look! But I will absolutely have a go at this method. A few people have suggested t shirt rather than towel-I wonder why this makes a difference?

Thank you-I’ve been looking at Merwave but again it just seems so so expensive with about 10 processes! Have you used this before?

Thank you-I’m going to try diffusing upside down!

So I’ve gone for the chop! Taken all the weight out and it has sprung up. This is after I’ve been rained on coming home on the bus so I will follow a combination of all the methods recommended here and take another one of the results after I’ve washed it in a couple of days

Thanks to those who initially suggested cutting the length off and adding layers. I do feel like it’s more in a ‘style’ now rather than just long unkempt hair!

Apologies if it's already been mentioned - I watch loads of youtube hair videos!! - but one hairdresser on there (Liza's Locks) specialises in working with your natural texture - am pretty sure she has said in the past that curl cream can weigh hair down too much, maybe mousse or a 'foam' (haven't ever seen that in the shops but I might be out of touch with what's available)

That new cut looks lovely. My tip for making my curly hair last more than one day is to tie it loosely on top of your head at night and not at the back of your head. That way the ‘stretched’ bit is underneath at the back of your head and not the top layer.

Your hair looks beautiful!

That latest cut looks amazing!

That latest cut looks amazing!

That latest cut looks amazing!

@GenerateNewUsernameYes I used Merwave for a bit but also found it too expensive so moved to a protein bar shampoo from TapperMade which lasts for aaaages and is much cheaper. The only thing I buy from Merwave now is the leave in protein treatment as I can’t find that anywhere else. This is my hair currently:

I prefer mousse over gel for the same reasons as you. Google the plop method for lazy days when you cba to diffuse 🤣 it helps with volume at the top you'll see some great YT videos. Buy a satin pillow case.
A good de frizze serum when fully dry will help too.
It looks gorgeous now cut 😍

Your hair looks lovely with the new cut! I have similar hair - fine but lots of it, a bit more than just wavy but not full on curly. I had a cut by a curls specialist last year and it was a game changer. Made me realise how many hairdressers just don’t know how to deal with non straight hair. They give you a straight cut that looks great in the salon but like trash when you wash it and style at home.

Mine is pretty short now with lots of choppy layering which dries beautifully. I just scrunch and air dry. So easy, and I’ve had so many compliments since I had it cut. I actually use smoothing shampoo & conditioner to take the frizz out and a curl serum on wet hair. Only squeezing excess water out with a T-shirt or microfibre towel then serum and scrunch straight after washing. Finger comb when dry to loosen it out a little.

I found Only Curls gave me that wet and stringy look you described earlier.

Oh wow, what stunning hair you have! This is the kind of sumptuous shine I was after, although I’m under no illusions of getting the same curl you have-mine definitely leans more to a wave than a curl!

I’ll look out for that shampoo you mention!

Thank you @purplemunkey. This hairdresser did say she gave me a curly cut but other than a few layers it didn’t feel too different so maybe next time I’ll seek out a curl specialist.

A few people have mentioned microfibre towel or t shirt so think I’ll invest!