Mixed-fiber Hair

[Honestwitness]

I wonder if you can help me analyze my hair. Some of my hairs are straight and some are curly. There seem to be fewer curly ones, and they are definitely shorter than the straighter ones. In fact, they are all different lengths all over my head. These curly ones are very unruly and look really strange to me.

Whenever I see the commercials for hair color products and see those gorgeous models waving their sleek, shiny hair around, I feel so hopeless. I don't think I'll ever get my hair to look that sleek, because of all these curly hairs among the straight ones.

Does anyone else have that problem? What do you do about it?

Here is a close-up photo of this phenomenon.

http://www.forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2759&pictureid=35614

http://www.forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2759&pictureid=35614

[RancheroTheBee]

If it helps, those models are Photoshopped to death. Also, none of them have what I like to call "Give me liberty, or give me death" hair (let it run wild or watch it go to crap.)

If I were you, I would probably try playing up the curlier fibers and bringing out a wave, to disguise the different lengths. If that's not possible, you can always do some micro-trims to even things out along the way.

[Honestwitness]

Thanks, Lady A. It does help to know about the touching up of the models. I guess I should be grateful that I have two kinds of hair on one head. I can make it wavy, if I use scrunch gel. But I can also make it straight, if I use leave-in conditioner and a curling iron. But, I'm trying to get away from so much heat, now that I'm keeping my hair, instead of cutting it off regularly.

[Arctic]

Maybe the curlies are new growth? It's quite common to have different kinds of hairs in one head, I have fine and more coarse, kinkier hairs all evenly distributed, and also my canopy is straighter than the underside.
By the way I love your colour!

[spidermom]

You can't really see the surface frizz, but otherwise my sig pic is representative of many textures and degrees of straight/curly/wavy. Everybody has hair of all different lengths because every single day we all shed out old hairs and grow in new ones. I can make mine look smooth on the surface by using pomade/wax/styling putty when I want to look extra-special pulled together. Otherwise my hair is a frizzled/frazzled mess.

[CurlyCare]

If it's any consolation, you aren't alone. This picture is very old, but shows the mixed textures of my hair:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y93/CurlyCare/095026b9.jpg

See the curls on top and the straight ones sticking out beneath? Weird, huh? I battle it the other way, and am always trying to get my straight hair curly.

My hair is still very mixed, but I have much less curl now. I believe this is because the new growth after childbirth (my little one is 19 months old now) was straighter. Same thing happened after my older child was born, and at about the same age, I got a big chop and for a little while had almost entirely straight hair. Also, my white hairs are more likely to be curly than my brown hair. What you see may be new growth showing a new phase in your life. Go with it. I think even close up it looks great.

[Anje]

My hair does that a lot. I think it's a 2a thing. (Or as I've sometimes complained, the hairs don't realize that I'm not a 3 until after the first 3-4 inches of growth.)

One thing that I tried recently that really made a difference was that I've reduced the temperature I wash my hair at a bit so that it's about lukewarm (mostly in an effort to reduce splits, but I didn't do it independently of the next step, so I'm including it). Then I do a final rinse with cold water right before I climb out of the shower. The little curly baby hairs have been a lot calmer every time I've done this.

If that fails, Fox's shea butter conditioning cream slicks them down rather effectively.

[Rohele]

I have those all over the place. I've never been able to get them to stick down without a flat iron (which I've put away for good). I agree that they could be new growth (or breakage) if they are shorter. I've had some success with light oiling on damp hair to minimize mine, but they don't go away completely.

And, yes, those models are Photoshopped to the extreme (as is any image you see in an advertisement - model, normal person, or otherwise).

[Honestwitness]

Thank you all for your comments. You have given me several good ideas on how to cope, plus a more realistic view on this.