What helps thinning curly hair be less wiry and straw-like, and hold curl better?!

[Hephebe]

I used to have a LOT of thick, ringletty hair which I usually wore just past my shoulders. Pretty much any shampoo and conditioner worked, and I was devoted to Frizz-Ease mousse 😁

Since I've had kids it's a fecking mess tbh. I don't highlight it any more as I'm allergic, so I have quite a bit of grey but as I'm blonde it sort of blends a bit and looks like a combo of ashy blonde/silver/the darker tone underneath. I have a lot less of it now though, and it's nowhere near as thick or as curly. The curls are still OK underneath but it's very flat on the top layers, and permanently wispy at the ends despite regular trims. What curls I do manage to get drop out very quickly now too. It's also fluffy all over - I guess it's the greys, which seem to be a different texture.

If you have similar curly hair (and you've got this far 😂) then have you found anything that helps?

Collagen, vitamins, co-wash, amazing conditioner etc?? I feel like I need to get more moisture and slip in when I'm washing, as it often feels a bit straw-like ever when I'm straight out of the shower. Does ANYTHING make a difference when you have this much bloody wiry grey woven through?!

Following! I feel like I'm constantly being bombarded by those Cornish seaweed ads atm, but I don't think I can commit that much money when a lot of the reviews say that you need to get through a 4 week "detox" period where your hair actually feels worse 😬

I instead bought a fairly cheap pantene keratin mask (it's a gold tub, about 6 quid from Sainsbury's) which has instantly made a huge difference on the coarse, wiry greys, but the internet tells me that I'm creating a build-up of silicone on my hair, and that I'll regret it....

I’ve got the same problem due to general aging. I’m currently using the whole range of Aussie stuff for curly hair. It does seem to be making a difference, especially if I leave it to dry naturally after a quick blast of cooler setting hairdryer.

Is it the smooth and sleek one @ChelseaBagger ? I have very similar hair now and before @Hephebe and this used to help me, wondering if go back to some of the old stuff as the underlying texture was still the same I think just now has this weird candyfloss feel too! I used to use Charles Worthington too the yellow one which was really good felt like it coated my hair well which I think does help. Sod the Internet and silicone build up lol

How old are your kids? The only thing that helped me was time.... The curl came back eventually. Other than time... I use a co-wash rather than shampoo and conditioner. It's always been better for my hair.

I keep it very simple with a cowash (currently Aldi coconut conditioner) or gentle shampoo (I like to cowash but can get good results if I shampoo too). Then follow with a thicker conditioner like garnier hair food masks. I just make sure it’s all silicone free (no ingredients ending in -cone, -cane or -xane or -Conol basically). You can add a dab of extra conditioner as leave in. Then I rotate between curl jelly and cantu lightweight gel.

I add products to very wet hair, brush through and then scrunch excess water out with a t shirt or microfibre hair towel. I then dry naturally.

I’ve had good results with this mask too although it smells horrible!

I've got the "pantene pro v keratin protect mask"(probably just because it was on offer when I happened to look!)

Paul Mitchell The Conditioner. Leave in and I’ve sworn by it for 30 years and I too am now grey and curly with hair now more coarse. And I use Only Curls regime also.

Interesting, thanks all!

My kids are tweens so I feel like my hair's had plenty of time to recover frankly 😁

I've also looked at the seaweed stuff but it's so expensive and has mixed reviews - I know you can return it but that's sort of just giving me another job to do.

I currently alternate Cantu curl cream and a random TK Maxx one that I can't remember - pretty much all curl creams seem to do a similar thing for me really. I think my hair's too fine now to be expecting a good cast from e.g. gel and mousse. I used to use the fragrance Only Curls creme and I quite liked it, but no more than any other cream tbh.

I'm careful about Curly Girl techniques e.g. product on soaking hair, drying with a pillowcase etc, and I don't often use a diffuser.

OP the Redken Acidic Bonding for Curls range has been most helpful for my ageing curly hair. Expensive but worth it if you can. The leave-in conditioner is excellent.

The seaweed stuff is ridiculous. Sent it back. It just coats your hair and makes it greasy. My hairdresser thought it was a joke. I use sea salt spray now to puff out the curls I have left!

A hairdresser once told me it takes 7 years for your hormones to cycle after having kids, and weirdly it was the year my youngest turned 7 the curls started to come back. She might well have been full of shit, and it was just a massive coincidence. 😂

My hair is fine too, and what works for me is co-wash only, no shampoo which dries it, and no conditioner which makes it floofy. Then I use a foam and a gel on top (I use the cheap sports one from Amazon).

Also, (if you are watching them...) stop watching the curl videos on Facebook reels. That kind of perfection isn't real or achievable for 90% of curlies in my opinion!

Good luck OP, it's a pain when your curls are not in sync.

Similar position here, but I was anaemic and it started to fall out, getting regrowth now but it's grey and a different texture. Can't help right now but I've booked my first curl by curl cut to see if that helps. I do find morrocanoil oil products help to some extent especially the leave in

Ahh @WellaWellaWellaOooh my expectations are already very well-managed, don't worry 😂 I just want it to look a tad more consistent, not aiming to recreate the bounce and volume of my youth! God you don't know what you've got til it's gone, do you

The Moroccan oil products in the blue/teal colour bottles smells gorgeous.
I have the oil that I used to pre treat and a leave in conditioner.

Have you had your ferritin levels checked? Turns out that A LOT of women are deficient in this and it's often the cause of hair looking a bit sad and thin, and a shadow of its past glory. Definitely worth looking into. Have Vit D and Vit B12 checked too.

I’m 62 so quite a few wiry grey hairs to enhance my curly mop
Not too fussy about shampoo - anything for dry or coloured hair works
Aussie 3 minute miracle conditioner, a deep conditioning treatment every 1-2 weeks as well
I recommend osis curling cream and air drying, I used to love osis twin curl but they discontinued it
I’ve tried cantu range and they don’t do anything for me

Palmers coconut oil shampoo and conditioner work wonders for me. Some other shampoos turn my frizzy hair into a thick matted clump that is impossible to comb.

Rizos curls curl cream, vo5 gel and diffuse dry