My hair is having an identity crisis

[Goddessa]

I'm somewhat frustrated with my hair. It can't make up its mind. Straight, wavy and curly all on one head. Help? Is there any way I can make it more uniform? How do I even hairtype this?

Here you can see the top layer if I let it air dry naturally and don't touch it. There's some wave but the FRIZZ! It is so unbelievably frizzy.

http://i68.tinypic.com/2exa1oh.jpg

The back is kind of trying to be wavy
http://i63.tinypic.com/29kquyg.jpg

Here you can actually see the progression as it changes...
http://i63.tinypic.com/15f4u35.jpg

Another look at that bottom layer
http://i63.tinypic.com/2u9255g.jpg

And for funsies, a perfect ringlet that looks like it could have come out of a curling iron next to a (bent) stick straight piece of hair
http://i66.tinypic.com/2ytoffc.jpg

Brushing it at all with oil straightens the top layer perfectly and makes it so sleek and shiny but fluffs the bottom out so badly it is like triangle head, I would prefer to keep with wavy/curly but it ends up just looking frizzy and messy. I've been heat free for nearly a year now. The longer it gets the easier it is to cope, perhaps just neglect it more and let it be?

[Obsidian]

Our hair could be twins but mine is a bit more curly underneath. Not really much you can do to even out the texture besides heatless curls or braid waves.
I try to treat all my hair like it's curly, no brushing when dry and using curl defining products.
If I do brush it, I'll use a heavy cone serum to help smooth out the poofy.

[Vanilla Mint]

Hello, yes, this is me. I find the longer my hair is, the more consistent it is in texture, and the more I get those ringlets at the bottom. Sometimes I find it helpful to go to bed with hair that is slightly damp from the mid-section to the ends (never wet at the roots!!!) and then sort of "plop" my hair in a bundle on my pillow. I sort of gently tousle it into the bundle, if that makes sense. (I use a satin pillowcase as well, it helps a lot.) I tend to wake up with more defined waves and curls that way, and less of those smoothly-straight pieces that just kind of...bend. I think I can tolerate the days when there's more of the annoying straight pieces because I have full bangs, and that's the pretty much focal point of my hair from the front at least. Also, I think it helps immensely to not brush my length--I style it into place with a wide-toothed comb once I get out of the shower, and don't mess with it after that. I finger-comb in the mornings and scrunch my ends a bit with plain water.

Hope some of that helps.

[Rowdy]

My hair is like this :) The canopy is 2c with some (annoying) 2b in the very back and my under layer is 3a to even 3b in some spots. But I just control it with heat when I want it more uniform so....

For frizz, mineral oil is really the only thing that gets rid of my frizz when curly. I let my hair dry completely with no touching if i can help it. Then I coat my hand in too much oil and gently run my hands over and 'twirl' each clump being careful to touch lightly and not drag on the hair. It helps the floaty and slippery hair causing the frizz to stick closer to their clump/curl. But I have strange hair that only tolerates oil and serums applied to dry hair.

[Arctic]

My hair is also similar. Canopy is about 1b-1c and underlayer can be about 2b at best, with few lazy spiralling sections going on there too.

I usually go for enhancing either straightness or wavyness (usually straighness because it's easier and quicker for my hair type). My everyday staple has become gentle headbanging after washing, letting air dry and when it's almost dry putting it in a cinnabun or two for a while. This makes the texture uniform enough for my tastes, and I can wear my hair down and feel good about how it looks. I also might blowdry it, usually going for straighter look. Sometimes going for wavier look with diffuser and curl friendly styling methods. In the summer I tested out squish to condish method which gave me really nice hair, alas the drying time also got manyfold and it was undoable in the long term for a daily washer like me.

Your canopy (and why not all of your hair) looks like it would lend itself perfectly to rag curls, btw!

[OhSuzi]

My hair is similar to this also, it's currently short - but when it was longer (CBL - ish) many years ago - see profile pic. Generally the top has waves and the underneath has the most curl so I'd put it up in a messy half bun & let the ringlets form at the bottom. What works for me might not for you - but to get tight ringlets all over when it's wet I'd take sections and twist them into tight droopy spiral snakes - as it air drys the twist become big coily ringlets & then I’d run my fingers through them briefly for loose ringletty curls. They don’t drop too much through out the day because the hair has a natural curl to it. This way also meant not too much frizz as it dried slowly in a controlled spiral pattern.
Other less practical methods – to get it a bit more wildly curly – dip hair in salty sea water give it a scrunch & let it air dry – or do a really horribly sweaty work out – I remember going to a weekend boot camp I got up washed & dried my hair straight – used ghds on it to mega straighten it. We did the longest morning run followed by a body weight work out & then ended with some silly football games – I was sweating profusely and by the end of it without doing anything other than sweating – (grim I know) my hair had turned into spiral ringlets.
For wavy curly, tip head upside down & gently scrunch dry with hair dryer on cold with a diffuser. Takes a while but result is softer but possibly a bit frizzy. I put the tiniest / amount of wax /gum in it if I want slightly more controlled stronger waves that last longer. Waxy stuff that has that sort of fibrous mildy stretchy gooey texture if you do that tappy pinchy thing with it between your fingers and thumbs – just enough to make your finger tips sticky & I scrunch it in when the hair is still damp - too much wax & you get a crispy solid texture that's kind of a wet look to your curls - maybe you'd like that - s'not my thing though.
For a big controlled wave all over – stick your damp hair in a plait or 2 plaits or even 4 plaits – depending on how much hair you have / how big you want the waves / how far up your head you want them to start from. & let them air dry / sleep over night with them in. – again you’ve already put your hair in the direction you want it to go so there should be minimal frizz.
Straight hair – for me this is rare because it’s the most effort & involves the most processes that could damage it. I would do it like a hair dresser & put it up & blow dry just a section at a time – again on cold air as this apparently closes hair cuticles with weapon of choice – either a wide tooth comb if im just going for straightish with minimal frizz or a paddle brush then a basic comb & some hair heat protecty stuff if Im gonna then straighten it (again section by section with the ghds). You can use hair straighteners – but generally Id say run them through like a comb – don’t continually do the same section over and over again & don’t hold them on your hair for longer than like 2 seconds, especially near then ends & do it on dry hair not damp hair.
Or do nothing to it & embrace the effortless straight wavy curly just got outta bed supermodel look that you achieve naturally that lots of people strive for with expensive products & trips to the hair dresser!

[lapushka]

Maybe try the CG method, or bits of the Curly Girl method to see whether you like it and/or your hair becomes less frizzy (even though I hardly see frizz in your pictures, but that's just me). :)

[Goddessa]

Glad Im not alone! And i cant wait to try all these suggestions. I did not expect such detailed answers.

[spidermom]

Yup, my hair is all mixed up, too, from about 1B to 3A and fine to coarse. It used to tend more toward the wavy/curly side, now it's more to the straight/wavy side. Time passes; things change.

[Goddessa]

Yup, my hair is all mixed up, too, from about 1B to 3A and fine to coarse. It used to tend more toward the wavy/curly side, now it's more to the straight/wavy side. Time passes; things change.

I'm just so relieved to know that I'm not the only one. I thought I was going a bit crazy and I was doing something wrong to the top(which I still may not be doing as good as I can be) to cause it to be such a different texture from the rest of it. The hair underneath is even significantly softer and never tangles too despite being 2b-3a while the straightest pieces snarl.