Look how straight my curly hair gets when it's dry

[SallySue]

For context, I've been doing CG for less than a year. This is my first winter caring for my curls, and I'm confused about just how variable my hair can be.

In contrast, here were my freshly washed and styled spirals in the summer humidity:
https://imgur.com/a/hVOXqVN
This would never happen in winter. The curls are in hibernation.

Today I am dealing with "Day-?" hair as it's been cold and having a wet head has sounds terrible. (I normally wash 2 times per week.) This time, after a couple of unsuccessful curly days, I decided to abandon hope for curls. Instead of scrunching, I smoothed in products (with main ingredients like flax, shea butter, and oils) and wore rope braids and buns for a few days. After brushing it out, this is my result.

http://imgur.com/a/ob26Va1
Please excuse my dirty mirror and dirty hair in order to make a point.

Questions:
A. How normal is this? Anyone else's hair have a split personality? Is it this extreme?

B. How unhealthy is this? I know I'm due for a wash and deep condition right now, but did I risk permanent damage by letting my dry, straight hair be dry and straight for a while? I applied moisturizers and oils, but you can't seal in moisture that isn't there.

Basically wondering if I made a mistake or if I should expect to live as a 3a for one half the year and a 1c the other half.

[cjk]

A.

Curly girl is an approach that supports curly hair. But it is not the only one. Many find their results highly variable, and that variability is influenced by many variables including seasonal changes. Over on the CG group on Facebook, many have been complaining about textural changes during winter, so I'd say you're not alone.

B.

What moisturizers are you using? Curly hair needs moisture, it is our texture that prevents it from effectively utilizing our natural sebum and the LOC method is a godsend. The texture of my hair has turned to full curls over the last year, as I've learned to care for it. But I'm fighting with it this winter, too.

Unless you did physical damage, like breaking the hairs or splitting the ends, anything else can easily be remedied. Clarifying will clean off the surface and allow it to absorb products. Moisture, like conditioner, will absorb.

If you're complaining about dryness, there's likely a problem. Describe your routine. Lots of us are well versed in CG, we might be able to help.

My guess is that you have buildup blocking your hairs ability to absorb moisture. When was the last time you clarified, and with what?

[blackgothicdoll]

A. Very normal. Braids and buns stretch out your hair, and brushing it will do so even more. I don't think it's extreme at all.

B. It is not unhealthy if you aren't brushing it aggressively, so to speak. You can't seal in moisture that isn't there, so you should opt for a wash if you feel your hair is getting dry. In my opinion/exp, putting moisture on top of hair that I've already oiled is just not logical. I should wash out the oil and start over. Others may disagree with this, though, so do which works best for you. But I find the build up of product causes my hair to weaken.

I don't think you made a mistake. Buns and braids stretch hair. If you don't want your hair to be straight, you may need to wash more often. I personally like to keep my hair stretched, but it is so coarse and prone to knots.

To help you out a bit, here's my hair after I wash:
https://imgur.com/ubwYYkp https://i.imgur.com/ubwYYkp.jpg

Here's my hair at the end of the week:
https://imgur.com/ea6CXW3https://imgur.com/ubwYYkphttps://i.imgur.com/ea6CXW3.jpg

:)

Sorry for bad photos but hopefully you get the point. ^_^

[Longlegs]

For me its the same, I don't think it's uncommon. I've given up trying to have wavy hair, I just let it be. Some days it's barely wavy, sometimes half my head is curlier than the rest!

[lithostoic]

Well yeah of course if you bun it and brush it out it's going to become straighter. Would be weird if it didn't!

[cjk]

My canopy is wavy, at best. My back and sides are ringlet curls.

Consequently I've become quite adept at styling.

One texture, whatever it might be, would be easier to deal with than my hair's split personality. But I wouldn't have become so good at braiding, if that was the case.

Another way to look at an obstacle is as an opportunity!

[SallySue]

Thank you all for the validation! This CG journey had me thinking that it was somehow damaging not to always strive to retain as much curl as possible. For the record, I'm happy with my hair being straight sometimes as long as I know I'm not hurting it.

I probably am due for a clarifying wash, and I'll look more into LOC/LCO for these dry days.

P.S. blackgothicdoll, I love the look of your wash day hair :)

[Spikey]

That looks very, very similar, maybe identical to my hair texture at the start of the week vs the end of the week. After washing I have curlies and ringlets, after a week of buns and braids my texture is pushing 2a. I haven't noticed any damage related to this, but then I don't follow curly girl, I mostly just stretch washes and mosturize my ends. I could be wrong.

But yeah, my hair has a split personality too, or maybe an alter ego. :demon:

[ExpectoPatronum]

My hair is identical to yours. It's very curly when freshly washed but grows progessively straighter the longer I go without washing it. It can be annoying but I've learned to accept it as it is.

[Milady_DeWinter]

My hair does exactly the same! We have a similar type too. Nothing to worry about :)

[lapushka]

Questions:
A. How normal is this? Anyone else's hair have a split personality? Is it this extreme?

B. How unhealthy is this? I know I'm due for a wash and deep condition right now, but did I risk permanent damage by letting my dry, straight hair be dry and straight for a while? I applied moisturizers and oils, but you can't seal in moisture that isn't there.

Basically wondering if I made a mistake or if I should expect to live as a 3a for one half the year and a 1c the other half.

It's all perfectly normal; you brushed it out and had it in "styles" that loosen the wave/curl pattern.

Not damaging at all, at least if you don't have rigorous stylers in there that you brush out the day after they're in (because gel can be tough to brush out at that time). I would not brush it out except for right before a wash. But that's me, and how I do it. :)

[Joules]

My hair is the same. That's why I don't even bother following the CGM, scrunching and all that, I just apply my leave-ins as if my hair was straight.

[spidermom]

I hope it's normal as I think my hair type would be best described as 1B-3A. I honestly never know what I'm going to get!

[blackgothicdoll]

Thank you all for the validation! This CG journey had me thinking that it was somehow damaging not to always strive to retain as much curl as possible. For the record, I'm happy with my hair being straight sometimes as long as I know I'm not hurting it.

I probably am due for a clarifying wash, and I'll look more into LOC/LCO for these dry days.

P.S. blackgothicdoll, I love the look of your wash day hair :)

Thanks! Yep, you're def not alone :)

[MusicalSpoons]

Beautiful either way, SallySue! But I have to say, I really think this is why so many people end up discovering actually curlies when they learn how to care for their hair, whereas before they just thought they had 'unmanageable' or 'unruly' hair (I hate those words for hair :-( with care we all can learn to work with it and appreciate its individual beauty!)