Curly when wet, straight when dry?

[Magdalene]

I've always thought I was losing my mind, but DH confirmed it. My hair is quite wavy, even some spirals when wet, and dries almost completely straight (well, there are some bends if I don't brush it, but it just looks messy). I wish I could keep my wet texture when it's dry! Does anyone have any suggestions, other than braidwaves?

[blue_nant]

I have this too, even spirals. Oooooh they are so pretty! I love my hair when it's half-dry ...

But uh, no, I have no ideas for you. Once a comb goes through it, *shoom* straightness.

I don't wear it loose hardly at all any more, so it doesn't disappoint me like it used to. *sigh* I'll be watching this thread, though, if someone has ideas :eyebrows:

[physicschick]

You could try scrunching in some aloe gel when it's wet. Honestly, though, I get better hold from oils and butters (I use a cocoa butter and oil blend) than I do from aloe. This is probably weird and nonstandard.

Are you drying your hair down? You could try plopping (basically, supporting the hair somehow during drying so the curl doesn't fall out). The lazy person's method is pillow plopping, which is easy to do if you go to bed with wet hair.

ETA: Also, no combing the waves! Combing will mess them up if they are fragile. (Just finger comb a tiny bit if you have to.)

[darkwaves]

I love going to bed with wet hair, at least, now that mine's long enough to stay draped out of my way.

It's true -- it really holds the curls more this way, and it's absolutely painless. (Unless you sleep with a cat. Or two. Or a dog, who's intrigued by the floppy hair. Or ...)

[NurseMama]

Have you tried plopping it dry? Sometimes that can make a huge difference.

[Little_Bird]

My hair behaves the same way... When it's drying it forms this curls and ringlets but when I comb it they are all gone!

It's just the way it is... there are some things you can do I'm sure :) I've read that buns, braids and even sock curls are helpfull! Good luck :flower:

[Arctic_Mama]

My hair does this, and the weight of the hair is what pulls it straight. Plopping and scrunchie waves have been mentioned, I can't add to that, but I will also second the suggestion of no combing them out... except maybe the BAREST finger combing. Most curlies know this, but disturbing the curl/wave pattern is generally a no-no. Scrunching the waves/curls after dampening them with a spray bottle is a good way to revive them as well.

[akka naeda]

My hair does this too and the only way I can keep it looking like it when dry is braid waves; if I bun it, it goes straight immediately, I've never had what other people refer to as bun waves.

I tried plopping and that was a waste of time, likewise putting aloe, oils, butters on it in the hope they might help. My hair likes them, but they won't make it stay curly/wavy when dry. Fingercombing is an impossibility for me as I'd end up with dreads very quickly so I have to comb it, so be aware of that if you try it:)

[Samikha]

I love going to bed with wet hair, at least, now that mine's long enough to stay draped out of my way.

It's true -- it really holds the curls more this way, and it's absolutely painless. (Unless you sleep with a cat. Or two. Or a dog, who's intrigued by the floppy hair. Or ...)

This! Always been my method to keep the curls. You might have a bit of frizz when you wake up, but that's easily solved with some oil or aloe gel.

[mira-chan]

My hair does this to. Using flax gel and plopping helps. Also when using Indian herbs my waves became more stable and stayed more.

[peachrose]

I would suggest pin curls... I've had a great experience with them and they can hold for days if you do it right! I roll my damp hair (with some shea as a leave in) and secure with bobby pins. I try to do this late afternoon and then take them out the following morning.. Here is a good YouTube tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50yw2W5F_z8

Hope thats helpful!

[Xandergrammy]

My hair does this too and the only way I can keep it looking like it when dry is braid waves; if I bun it, it goes straight immediately, I've never had what other people refer to as bun waves.

I tried plopping and that was a waste of time, likewise putting aloe, oils, butters on it in the hope they might help. My hair likes them, but they won't make it stay curly/wavy when dry. Fingercombing is an impossibility for me as I'd end up with dreads very quickly so I have to comb it, so be aware of that if you try it:)


This is my hair exactly! In fact, David and Tammy told me that my hair looked much straighter in real life than it does in pictures. That's because my length photos are always taken on wash day with absolutely no combing until dry. My hair for the meet was day 2 or 3 and had been braided, bunned, combed, etc. Very straight. I think I might try the pillow plopping, since that's the only thing I haven't tried yet.

[catfish]

This is me for sure. Right out of a bath, my hair is in ringlets, but once dry only waves. I have tried plopping, but the tangles I get are horrendous. Oils do help my waves stay wavy, but not aloe, aloe makes for dry and straight hair. I do get nice curls and waves when I sleep with wet hair, but I have not found a way to de-tangle without pulling the curl out. I have tried no combing and all that got me was mats. So far I can have curls and tangles or waves and no tangles, if anyone finds the secret to fine, tangly, wavy/curly, hair that does not lose the curl with combing, let me know:D

[Kirin]

I have to agree, i have the same issue with wet/curl and dry/straight, and aloe vera actually makes my hair PIN straight even with scrunching. its a beautiful look, if thats what I want!

the only thing that holds the curl for me is mousse, and I still do use it occassionally.

[spidermom]

I had once heavily oiled my hair, then got it wet, let it air dry, and I couldn't believe the curls. Too bad my hair was so oily, otherwise I'd do it all the time. But I don't want to start leaving head prints on the back of our couch.

[ilovelonghair]

So this is quite common! I thought I was one of the few with such 'weird' hair LOL. I can keep my curls with aloe though. I also have more curls on the left then on the right side, which is strange. I got one spiral on that side, and sometimes my nape hair has spirals.

[Samikha]

So this is quite common! I thought I was one of the few with such 'weird' hair LOL. I can keep my curls with aloe though. I also have more curls on the left then on the right side, which is strange. I got one spiral on that side, and sometimes my nape hair has spirals.

Which side do you sleep on, or do you sleep on your back? This may very well be influencing how they turn out.

[Curlsgirl]

I love going to bed with wet hair, at least, now that mine's long enough to stay draped out of my way.

It's true -- it really holds the curls more this way, and it's absolutely painless. (Unless you sleep with a cat. Or two. Or a dog, who's intrigued by the floppy hair. Or ...)

Mine does a lot better this way too. Even if it doesn't stay "draped" it is curlier in the morning than if I leave it down to dry. I don't leave it very wet, maybe halfway because I can't stand it.

Another idea is curl enhancer and/or a gel. I like pink Boots Curl cream at the moment and then I use LA Looks Sports gel. Plain aloe gel does nothing for my hair although I know it works for some. I also keep my hair very well moisturized which include a leave in conditioner.

[Xandergrammy]

Another idea is curl enhancer and/or a gel. I like pink Boots Curl cream at the moment


Where do you get the pink Boots Curl cream??

[Shorty89]

You're definately not the only one. My hair does this too. Plopping helps but I've never managed to get it 100% dry with plopping. As soon as it's totally dry it straightens out more.

[suziwon]

I too have this issue. The other oddity that I have is that the longer it gets, the curlier/wavier it gets. Oh, and all of my grey/silver/white hairs that I have are all super curly. My hair is a small fraction of an inch past BSL, which is where I begin to have luck with it curling with some product.

I'd heard good things about Jessicurl (http://www.jessicurl.com/) from other curlies on this forum, so I decided to check it out after a coworker expressed interest in seeing my hair "curly". I bought the trial size kit in rich (http://jessicurl.com/Trial-Size-Collection-Rich-pr-511.html), and was pretty happy with it. My biggest complaint about it is that the little jar of Too Shea! Extra Moisturizing Conditioner isn't sealed, and it made quite the mess in the bag that it was shipped in when it melted in transit. Go go Las Vegas summer heat.

Also, the jessicurl stuff came with instructions that seemed to help with defining the curl/wave of my hair - only comb with a wide tooth comb in the shower while it's soaking wet and full of conditioner, don't wring the water out of it when you finish washing it, and don't turban it either. The reason behind these recommendations is that these actions all prevent disruption of your curl pattern. I haven't tried the microfiber towel instead of terry cloth to prevent frizzies suggestion, but I figure I'll toss it out there to be tried.

As for my coworker, she was fairly impressed with the amount of curl in my hair, and another asked me if I'd gotten a perm or something.:D

[paper]

My hair is the same. After washing my hair, I comb it once. Then, I let it air dry. I can get some really pretty waves. The more I comb it, the straighter it gets. You might like to read this thread......



http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=6942

[SarieQ]

My hair does this too! I honestly thought it was just me! I get ringlets and tons of wave when it's drying, but gone like a freight train when my hair's dry! I have had some success in the past with hemp oil. For some reason, it always brought out more wave. I don't wear my hair down as much now to know if it still works.