Getting my curls back

[Fatrascal27]

How? I feel overwhelmed with all the methods and styles. I used to have thick wavy hair. 2c I think. For years I’ve straightened it and more recently had a pixie cut. I now want to grow it into a wavy bob.

Well I’ve tried and my hair won’t cooperate! I used to wash, use frizz ease mousse and air dry. Worked well but my hair is thinner now thanks to menopause and while it waves when wet, it won’t easily hold the curl and then goes fluffy and flat looking.. I just can’t find the right product. Lots of mousse is too light but some of the creams are too heavy.

Any suggestions? TIA.

I like the Only Curls conditioner and curl crème

Thanks. I did try that but even that seemed a bit heavy. What I find is that I can’t keep the curl overnight now. I think this is because my hair is finer than it was.

I think I may need to find a mousse that works. I have a Dream Curls one which works to define but it’s too light to keep the hold.

There are so many products it’s confusing.

Perhaps you used too much, I use minimal product.

Good point. I may give it another go. Thank you.

Same boat! I like Davines curl creme ... but I suspect that these products are all much of a muchness and a licence to print money for the manufacturers.

What works best for me is a bit of product, then blow-drying on a low heat with a diffuser. But it all falls apart overnight. On alternate days I wet my hair and blow dry again.

I lost hair during peri and actual menopause. Taking collegen and omega supplements helps.

The Umberto Giannini curls range is good, but you have to be very light on the conditioner and mask with fine hair.

Are you using curly hair shampoo and conditioner? I.e. Silicon and sulphate free? I found it has made a huge difference to my hair which has gone from slight wave to a mix of ringlets and waves (mostly 2c I think) . I put a small amount of normal conditioner through my hair after washing as a leave in thing and then spray with frizz ease, put up in a jersey head towel for ten mins and dry with a diffuser or air dry.

@Geneticsbunny im not. What shampoo is good?

Have you tried gel? There are some quite lightweight ones. I use Flora & Curl, only curls also good.
if your hair is quite thin/fine, also remember to apply products whilst wet, but then use an old tshirt/microfibre towel to (gently) remove some of the water- this will prevent the weight dragging your curls down (literally place the towel over your hands and gently bring them up to your scalp, no mad scrunching etc!
I’d avoid creams etc.
Also get yourself familiar with the basics of ingredients- anything with shea (or any butters), or oils (coconut, olive etc etc) are generally suited to more Afro hair types and will likely be too heavy for finer/wavier hair.

Unfortunately your hair may have just changed with menopause.

I had fine hair with 2C waves. I now have fine hair which I can drag kicking and screaming into 2A if I put loads of effort in.

I used to really like Boucleme, Only Curls and Jessicurl products. With fine hair I found I needed a really strong gel, not a light mousse, or the curls disappeared quickly. They also need a huge amount of conditioner to form clumps.

However I'm embracing straight hair now.

I had curls all the way from babyhood to grey hair, which happened over a brief period in my mid-60s. Before that, long ,short, in-between, I could just wash, shake my head, and go. Now, with a lot of layering, product, and a diffuser, I can get it to curl for an hour. I think sometimes you just have to give up.

My main priority is cheap and does the job. I use cantu which is about £6.50 a bottle but sometimes on 3 for 2.

Over the last 18months I think I have tried every product on the market and the best I have found is merwave. To start with I needed all 5 steps but now I can just use the curl cream and foam with protein once a week. My curls look great and I no longer need to wash my hair daily and it is so much healthier.

I’d agree with this, you need to try a gel. If I just use mousse then my hair is massively frizzy. Gel defines my curls and holds them for days. Use it on soaking wet hair and scrunch it in well. When your hair is dry, don’t worry if it feels crunchy. That’s just the cast that keeps your curls defined and frizz free as it dries. Gently scrunch out the crunchiness and your curls will be lovely and soft.
The Umberto Giannini gel is a great, well priced gel to try.

Merwave products are designed for wavy hair rather than curly and work well.

Aldi Lacura volume conditioner in a blue bottle is good for fine wavy hair it has protein in it which helps encourage the curl, its not heavy or over moisturising. And its sulphate free.

this is what I do… I’m so glad there are more curl products in the shops again!

Curl crème with very wet hair
Brush through and lift
scrunch
Curl Gel - I use Umberto Giannini
scrunch
then diffuse ends but not for too long

Thanks all, going to experiment and see what happens. If it does t work, the straighteners will be out again!

i love give me cosmetics hair range £25 for a big set on tiktok shop they do one for curly hair called four curls my hair is straight but its a very good brand, i've also heard good things about curl jelly range. wash, scrunch with gel, diffuse dry with head bent forward (i've knew people to dry their hair through a colander instead of diffusing) then use a small amount of serum when dry to take the crunch from the gel away.