Would like a bit of advice...

[visiblenoise]

Hi! Long time lurker (kind of), first time poster.

I've been growing my hair out for about a year now, with a neat neck/shoulder length as my goal, and I'm getting quite frustrated about my results. I was growing in from the typical short gelled asian look, I rubbed my hair after showering, blow-dried, etc. because I didn't know anything about hair except how I wanted to spike it. But it's been a while, so I think I should have cut most of the damage out by now.

My hair seems substantially healthier now, but I still have this annoying problem of it not being very...flexible. For example, if I flip my hair over to the left side, the hair on the right side of my head doesn't really fall flat, like it doesn't have any weight. This is especially true for the hair around my ears. So, I can make my hair look fine in front of a mirror, but when it's windy outside, it'll look really weird because I have strands defying gravity everywhere. They're all sort of locked in the place I give them when I sleep at night. Any tips?

My hair is mostly straight... I'm led to believe that the curls are due to damage or something. Right now I'm using Dove Anti-Frizz shampoo and some Pantene "Nature Fusion" conditioner. And the Pantene Clarifying shampoo once or twice a week.

[danacc]

As your hair grows longer, it will gain more weight, which should help. In the meantime, don't be afraid to wet it in the morning. You can try a mister bottle. It may need to be dampened quite a bit for it to "forget" how it was slept on. You can try aloe gel as a non-damaging styler.

You can also try styles with barrettes or clips to hold the sides in place.

[Aer]

I second danacc, thats pretty good advice. I can just tell you that hair care is different for everyone, and it can take time to see what works best for you. Welcome to TLHC, I hope you have a good time here!!!

[Toadstool]

My hair is mostly straight... I'm led to believe that the curls are due to damage or something. Right now I'm using Dove Anti-Frizz shampoo and some Pantene "Nature Fusion" conditioner. And the Pantene Clarifying shampoo once or twice a week.

Welcome to LHC!:)

I'm not sure I have any advice for you but am intrigued by this comment, because I am growing out/cutting off damage and was already scared I'd lose my curls. So I wondered what makes you think this?

[ChloeDharma]

I definately second (or 3rd) the aloe vera gel advice, also a light oiling can help calm down hair. Mine is fine and does the floaty thing really easily, my solution is to wear it up but i know that's not an option at shorter lengths.
The best advice i can give is to be patient and allow the hair to gain length which will hopefully reduce this problem. Also finding hairstyles for inbetween stages using clips etc could be fun.
Good luck :)

Toadstool i'm sure you will have noticed many curly-heads here with hair in fabulous condition. The curls are genetic, not from damage and it's to do wth the shape of the hair follicle determining the shape of the hair shaft.
Curly hair can be a little prone to dryness and there is the obvious issue of tangles, but these do not mean the hair is automatically unhealthy at all.
I hope that puts your mind at rest :)

[Lamb]

Your problem sounds like either bedhead or a few ill-placed cowlicks which you didn't notice in the old gelled-spiked days.
I think you can just get your hair wet in the shower every morning and use gel (Aloe Vera gel, or something non-alcoholic standard stuff) to give it better staying power. Also, try not to fight where it parts naturally. If seems to have a pretty strong mind of its own, so if you have a natural off-center part, you'll have difficulty parting your hair on the wide left, for instance.

[Toadstool]

I d

Toadstool i'm sure you will have noticed many curly-heads here with hair in fabulous condition. The curls are genetic, not from damage and it's to do wth the shape of the hair follicle determining the shape of the hair shaft.
Curly hair can be a little prone to dryness and there is the obvious issue of tangles, but these do not mean the hair is automatically unhealthy at all.
I hope that puts your mind at rest :)

Thanks ChloeDharma I deep-conditioned my hair today and didnt seem to lose any curl:)

[visiblenoise]

Hmm... thanks for the replies.

Welcome to LHC!:)

I'm not sure I have any advice for you but am intrigued by this comment, because I am growing out/cutting off damage and was already scared I'd lose my curls. So I wondered what makes you think this?

Honestly it was just a guess. I assumed that since most of my hair is straight-ish, the curls were abnormal and probably due to my being rough with it or something.

OHhh, could it possibly have something to do with my face wash? I used to have bad acne so I still use face washes with salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide, and it does get into the hair near my face when I wash...

[spidermom]

Some hair - like mine - has both straight areas and curly areas. It can be a pain to style, especially at short lengths, but it's within the range of normal.

[JamieLeigh]

Hair has been known to change type with length and with age. So if you've only worn your hair very very short for a long time, you might not be aware of how your hair type has changed. In other words, your straight hair has become curly, because either your body is changing, or because of added length. It's not necessarily damage. Loads of people on this board who always had stick-straight hair have found waves and curls as they've grown their hair out. :flower: