Fifty year old fine, wavy, collarbone length , frizzy hair. What to do with it??

[attiwf]

It’s so over processed at this stage of my life . I do try to keep it in good condition but it’s just awful. Thirty years of permanent colour! !
wouldn’t mind getting the natural wave/ curl back into it but in a defined way not with that awful crunch hard curl crème which I couldn’t bear .
I’ve tried to straighten it, curl it using the baby liss curl pro, leave it to dry naturally but it’s still awful. Please recommend your holy grail products for texture and definition . The only thing that ever came near to normality was Philip Kingsley elasticizer mask. My hair soaks up all masks and treatments.
also interested in a decent cut and style, it’s flat, limp , frizzy depending. on humidity and it just hangs there .

I managed to get my hair from wavy to full on curls without doing any curly girl methods and am the same age as you. And it is really easy - just stop using combs or brushes. All I do is when I wash my hair I squeeze a little bit with a towel and then I use my fingers to put my parting in and that's it. I don't comb it through or brush it anymore. My hair just sits properly in curls now. I will try to pop a photo up later.

Are you still colouring it? Maybe look into transitioning to grey - I did this a couple of years ago and have not dyed my hair again.
Hair texture does change as well over time.
I don't really know how to use techniques for waves but both DD and I have naturally wavy hair. Hers is below shoulder length and she puts an anti frizz spray on when wet and just leaves it and it dries into natural waves. I blow dry the front of mine to straighten it out and let the rest dry in a less smooth way. Bit of salt spray when dried for definition.
A good cut which keeps a shape and style is essential though.

if elasticizer works, why did you stop using it? I ask because I have similar hair, used it for the first time this week and was impressed. Otherwise I echo pp on not brushing it. I find that so hard, having brushed it all my life, but it does look better if I don't. Also agree that a good cut makes a huge difference - even when you're just getting it cut all one length the way you've always had it, some hairdressers are just magical.

Would some coconut oil help? Just scoop some out (it’ll be solid), melt it in your hands and dab here and there - it may take some time to work out the right amount for your hair.

There is a woman on Instagram called Kat something, her hair is good.

Yeah the other thing I should have added was don't put your hair up for a bit. I used to every day wash my hair tie it up take it down late afternoon and it would be wavy and frizzy and just crap sitting there. Now it sits really well all the time with no effort. My hair is pretty fine so I use Ouai styling products when it's dry but most of the time I don't need to cause it looks good.

You’ve described by hair in its natural style.

I use Philip Kingsley elastizer once a week, and leave it in anything from an hour or overnight before washing.
I then use Cantu shampoo and conditioner, followed by cantu curl cream smoothed into fairly still wet hair and I comb that through and then scrunch up to the root topped then by Umberto curl gel.
Diffuse until 100% dry, and then add a small amount of curl gel (5p size) to my palms and scrunch out my hair to final style.
They are fairly cheap products and I think it looks fairly decent.

Ill try and take a quick pic of it now, but it’s a couple of days post washing

Hopefully this works

Best will be to return to your natural colour and curl. Colourwise you can transition but to get the curl you'll probably need to wait for the damage to grow out.

Alternatively you could get a good trim and kerastraight treatment for smooth straight hair.

Depends, short term pain for long term gain or the quick fix? No judgement.

Thank you. I will continue ye to colour my hair but thanks and I think I’ll try the elasticizer again