kind of feel like I am between a rock and hard space

[natorade]

As most of you know, I am trying to grow out my short doo along with damage. I am kind of in a rough spot right now. I use to be able to let my hair dry in it's natural curl, but because my damage is so bad, my hair doesn't really curl any more, it just dries like a fuzz ball, so I have to straighten it to make it look nice. I am getting more damage from the flat iron and I don't know what to do anymore. I don't want to walk around looking like a poodle, but I want to take a break from straightening it so it can get healthy. Any suggestions out there?

[Juneii]

my only suggestion is to use hair pins to make it look less.. frizzy?

I knew I was damaging my hair when I straightened it. I had severe layers about two years ago and they looked horrible when I don't do anything to them. but the more I flat iron it, the worse it gets so my solution was to leave it alone and either clip it with pretty pins or put it in a pony tail and ignored it.

if it damages your hair please stop flat ironing, you're not making things any better in the long run :(

[GoddesJourney]

Blow dryer, cool setting, round brush. Go.

[BrightEyes]

Until just recently I was dealing with the very same thing. I know how frustrating it is when you want your hair to look nice, but it seems that the easiest thing to do to make it look nice is the very thing that is damaging it.:(

I'm beginning to realize with my hair that the less I use heat and the better I take care of it, the better it looks naturally. At first my hair was so frizzy and not quite wavy but not quite straight. But I've been trying very hard to use less heat (I blow dry only once a week and quit the flat iron all together), and I have been oiling and moisturizing my hair a lot more. It's been about 6 weeks, and I am amazed at how much better it is starting to look. It has more of a uniform wave pattern, and even some ringlets.

If you aren't against using a little product, some curl enhancing products might help too. I have had a lot of success with Jessicurl styling products (not so much the shampoo and conditioners). This has helped a ton.


If you can at least switch to using the blow drier and use it less often, and give your hair some pampering with DTs and oil I think that you'll be suprised at how it'll improve. HTH:)

[funnyface]

Two words: Sponge Rollers.

They seriously saved my life when I was growing my hair- and it would look really cool with your hair as it would be a funky short curly do. I used to wash my hair, let it get half dry and then put it in rollers (with hair net! HOT) and just unwind in the morning. Really easy and you are happy if it rains as your hair poufs up even more!

xxx

[zule]

Absolutely agree: blow dryer on cool, big round brush. There are also some products for frizzy hair. Post in the hair products forum about your problem, or do a search.

[Kirry-Folk]

Are you familiar with "hat hair?"

Years ago, I noticed hats, well, giving me hat hair, but aside from being oddly kinked up and goofy looking, the hair would be extremely shiny and frizz free. I moved from hats to bandannas and was infinitely amazed at the level of shine.

Fast forward several years, and I'm trying to grow out heat-damaged hair without it being frizzy or dull from lack of styling. I remembered the shine and softness left by bandannas and hats, so after combing and gently twirling my ponytail into one giant curly lock (letting the giant curly lock rest against the back of my head, I'm a stomach sleeper) and then I'd wrap the whole shebang up with the giant scarf. and would awaken to ultra-soft super shiny hair.

I've continued to do that to this day. It eliminates frizz completely for me, but my hair is pretty well behaved so it might not work for everyone...

Given that your hair doesn't quit look like it'd fit in a ponytail, you might just try slicking it back and wrapping your head with scarf or bandanna to see if it does anything for you. If it does, you can figure out how to "set" your hair so you can style it this way, overnight.

:confused: I hope this makes sense. :p And honestly, you couldn't look like a poodle if you tried, you're quite pretty, so your hair could be a giant mess and you'd still be gorgeous. Try not to worry about it so much!

[jaine]

I love my hard-hold gel to straighten my hair without heat!! :heart:
It looks like yours might be short enough to try this too.

1. wash hair
2. plop in a towel for 10 minutes to get most of the water out (makes drying faster)
3. apply gel
4. comb it with a fine-tooth comb to shape it, get the gel evenly distributed, and get all hairs where you want them
5. let it air dry until it's totally dry and hard to the touch
6. finger-comb to remove the crunchy feeling.

I like Max Green Alchemy Sculpting Gel (http://www.maxgreenalchemy.com/item--Scalp-Rescue-Sculpting-Gel--MGASCU.html) for this because it feels like nothing is in my hair after I finger-comb the crunch out, but it still holds really well. I think anything that dries hard and scrunches out would work.

[nuxa]

Can I be honest!? :hmm:
I take it as the first pic is the one that you don't like... but it's actualy the one I like better! Your hair has volume and body opposed to the second one :shrug:
It looks reeeealy nice to me... I mean it ;)

[SunshineHair]

nuxa said the same thing I was thinking!

Your hair is nice, very pretty without it being very flat! It is still really bugs you maybe become a hat person for a while! Bit I would almost dare to think the frizz part isnt even there, we are our own worse critics!

[Capybara]

Have you tried pinning it back in piecey sections, to create a "faux up-do?" My cousin had similar hair, and was quite adept at creating the illusion of longer hair in an updo when in reality she was just trying to hide bed head :) Although your hair looks pretty as is, in my opinion!

[Beesweet]

1. www.buff.com (get 'em cheaper on eBay)
2. snoods, bandanas, cute little clips that pull front back
3. I also like 1st picture better.
4. If you eventually want the hair you are flat ironing now to be nice to you in two years when it is at shoulder length or longer, then you need to give your flat iron away.:)

[mellie89]

I had the same issue for a long time, and my hair is FINALLY acting like hair again. The only things that changed were the following:

1. Blow drying on cool or lowest heat setting
2. Throwing away my straightener
3. Not touching hair while drying
4. Using TONS of coconut oil to fight dryness
5. Brushing regularly with a wooden quilled brush

Also, I think there is an adjustment period where you have to get used to seeing yourself without super straight hair. You can get shine from oil or coney serums, but try to start working with and loving your natural hair texture. :)

[Dark Rosaleen]

To be honest it does look nice in the first picture. It has a lot of body and I'm not seeing any frizz.

Why don't you try wearing some headbands until it grows out a bit more and lays smoother. Otherwise the sponge rollers everyone else have been suggesting would be a great idea, as would blow drying on a cool setting.

[christine1989]

I like the spongy rollers to make my hair look nice without heat damage. They are nice and squishy so you can sleep in them too. Also try a tiny dab of coconut oil to get rid of that dry, crunch feeling and add shine.

[heynormy]

Two words: Spong Rollers.

They seriously saved my life when i was growing my hair- and it would look really cool with your hair as it would be a funky curly do. I used to wash my hair, let it get half dry and then put it in rollers (with hair net! HOT) and just unwind in the morning. Really easy and you are happy if it rains as your hair poufs up even more!

xxx

I do this nowadays!! Also, since I only wash my hair once a week, I will occationally straighten my hair and leave it so it lasts that entire week. Now the trick is to not look like a greaseball!!

[Katze]

When my hair was your length it was also hard to manage (and also bleached). I used a lot of product, bobby pins, headbands, barettes, etc. Eventually it got better. :)

If you keep straightening, on top of the coloring, you might find that your hair continues to be frizzy since it is dry from being damaged. Straightening irons were not in when I had hair at your length, but I did use a curling iron to straighten, and wondered at the splits...

[Keildra]

I say pony tail for a while and if you can't do that pig tails, maybe some bobby pins to catch flyaway and some not so harsh gel to hold down extra frizz.

some better methods have already been mentioned

[heidihug]

[I'm an old fogie, so it is quite entertaining for me to see so many of the younger members here who want straight hair. Oh, the crap we put our hair through in the 1980's to have curly, wavy, "frizzy" hair!]

I see that your goal is to have chin-length hair? I think that you actually can have nice-looking hair at chin by continuing to stick to your present routine. Why not straighten when you know you will be getting an inch cut off every other month? The splits and breaks will be gone in a relatively short (by LHC standards) amount of time.

If your goal is to eventually get longer than chin-length, though, as others have recommended, the best thing you can do for your hair is to put your straightening iron down and never plug it in again. Don't blow dry, either, unless it's on cool and you absolutely must. There have been some great suggestions here about how to achieve a straighter look without damaging your hair. I know (from years of experience) that you can get into the vicious, often damaging cycle of trying to get your hair to conform to how you think it should look, using heat and alcohol-laden products. Then you cut because of the damaged ends. And on and on.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[lilalong]

I agree. If you want chin length hair, you don't need to be as careful. Blow drying and using products, will probably be ok.