Curls won't hold at this length!

[Kristin]

I have naturally 1b/1c hair. When it was bobbed, it waved and stuck out a lot. Between APL and BSL, it is perfect with just a tiny bit of wave/body. My hair is now at waist and this is the longest it has been in my adult life. I LOVE big curls and my hair easily held curls at shorter lengths. It doesn't seem to be working any more. Last night I slept with large foam rollers, and this morning my ends waved for about 10 minutes before going flat. I've tried my Caruso rollers (which used to hold curls for about 2 days) and that lasts an hour or two before flattening. I even got desperate one weekend and tried a curling iron, but that was a complete waste of time. I think part of the problem is that I no longer use mousse or hair spray because of the alcohol and silicone.

Any suggestions for making curls stay? Especially the big, fat kind?
Thanks in advance!

[Carolyn]

I think we are hair sisters :D It's the nature of our hair type and length. The weight of the hair pulls the curls down and out. Any bit of humidity makes a curl flop. You could try aloe vera gel. Some have good luck with that. I never did. If it was me, I'd use a setting lotion and some hair spray for those special occasions when you want curls to stay a few hours. I don't think it's that harmful if not done all the time. You gotta allow yourself to have fun with your hair.

[akuamoonmaui]

Dare I suggest layering? My hair does the same thing, only I keep long layers to keep the curl.

[Kristin]

akuamoonmaui- I have layers and I will probably keep some layering just for visual interest and thickness issues even when I hit goal.

Carolyn- I totally agree. I want to have fun with my hair, but hair spray makes it feel gross now that I've gone so long without. I've tried aloe gel, but maybe I'm not using it correctly...I usually rub it over my canopy to smooth flyaways. Are there any alcohol-free gels or mousses?

[Carolyn]

I'm sure there are some that are alcohol free but I can't name any. When I used to set my hair on hot rollers, Carusos, wet sets or curling iron, I just used hair spray to help hold the curl. I used to use one by Clinique that was fragrance free but I have no idea if it was alcohol free. I'm out of it now so I can't go check. If I'm using a product like hair spray it's usually less than once a month so I don't worry about the ingredients.

[spidermom]

A lot of styling gels are alcohol free, although they might contain the oil-based kind, which won't dry out your hair.

I have the same problem now; my hair is much too long to hold a curl.

[little_cherry]

Some use flax seed gel (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/showthread.php?t=61208) or aloe vera gel on damp hair to hold curl.

[Capybara]

When I curl my hair (I usually use foam rollers or rags), I find that the curl stays best if I wet my hair a bit first, just so it's damp, then leave the curling "tools" (ie. rollers/rags) in overnight. When it dries like this in curlers, I find that the curl stays for much longer. I have a special pillow that I use on the nights that I curl my hair. It's much fluffier and taller than my regular pillow, so the rollers/rag knots don't hurt my head.

I also find that, if I apply product ot my hair after curling, it weighs the curls down and I'm just left with stringy, uncombed looking hair - great for messy buns, but not always the look I'm going for when I want curls :o. If I want to use product to keep the curls in, I'll apply it before I curl my hair. It seems to not weigh the curls down that way.

Also, one last note - Since my hair has gotten longer, I need to use smaller rollers to achieve the same resulting curl. I'm not sure why, but larger rollers aren't working for me right now. They give waves at best, but no true, real curls. If I want curls - even big, loose curls - I'll use small rollers. I don't comb or seperate the curls after forming them, not even finger combing, I just turn my head upside down and shake it a bit to let them loosen.

HTH :blossom:

[IStand4u]

I use flax seed gel that I make myself, and my curls (which are natural) stay nice twice as long as normal, even with expensive gel! It's cheap, and easy to make and use, and half the time you can't over-do-it with the gel! :) HTH

[LittleRainbow]

Some use flax seed gel (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/showthread.php?t=61208) or aloe vera gel on damp hair to hold curl.
I've used flax seed gel and that's some strong stuff. Need to figure out how get curls and not big waves now but otherwise, It works good for me ;)

[Dolly]

I love the curls I get from sleeping in rollers, and even though my hair is not heavy, it would NOT hold a curl before, not with curling irons, hot rollers, caruso rollers, or anything.....I used to perm, but stopped right after my son was born and he is almost 12.

When it was shorter, I didn't have to use mousse to get nice curls from a wet set, but at this length, to get the curls to last, I use Aussie "catch the wave" mousse with leave-in conditioner....I am a regular cone user/lover though....that mousse makes my hair shiny and bouncy and soft, and the curls will last all day.

I also agree that in order to get better curls, you may want to think about rolling smaller sections of hair on smaller rollers. You can also try doing a spiral wrap pattern, which works well on longer hair.

[ScarlettAdelle]

Perhaps try modified sock curls? Like fold up a sock & put it inside another sock & wrap your hair around that when it's wet & let it dry with flax seed gel? might take a while to dry, but there's a good possibility it'll hold. If you can find a curling cream or curl booster that'd help too.

Good luck! I hope you find a solution & post it as eventually I want to stop using alcohols in my hair as well. :)

[Kristin]

Hmmm...ok. Maybe next weekend I'll try to make some flax seed gel. I can't put rollers in damp hair or they will never ever dry. I could try it in hair that is 3-5% damp and it might dry by morning. I have smaller foam rollers, so I'll give those a go, too. Thanks for all the advice, ladies! I'll update if anything works!

[angelfell]

This is probably something not very good to do, but when I mention to hair stylists in the salon that my hair is heavy and doesn't hold curl for crap, they always spray the strands lightly with hair spray BEFORE curling. They'll take a piece, spray it, comb through, and then curl. I've done this before and it does help, but if you use too much, your curls become hard and lifeless. You should still do a mist of hairspray over it all when finished, too. But, something about the steam/smoke that rises from the curling iron from wet/hairsprayed strands when curling makes me grit my teeth.. I'm really not sure if it's really that damaging or not, though, but I have the same problem with my hair and it works like a charm.

[ScarlettAdelle]

Hmmm...ok. Maybe next weekend I'll try to make some flax seed gel. I can't put rollers in damp hair or they will never ever dry. I could try it in hair that is 3-5% damp and it might dry by morning. I have smaller foam rollers, so I'll give those a go, too. Thanks for all the advice, ladies! I'll update if anything works!


I have the same problem. What I usually do is wash on saturday morning, sock curl in a spiral pattern and then take the socks out on monday morning, since it takes all saturday and all sunday and usually sunday evening to dry. The nice part is, since I only finger comb afterwards, and re-wrap by wrapping my hair around my fingers and then re wrapping it on the socks in the same pattern, I can get until wednesday before it needs brushed and then until friday evening before it needs washed, and what comes after friday evening? Saturday morning! I love it because I not only get luxurious curls, but I only have to wash once a week and it looks like I spend hours, multiple times a week on my hair, when all I do is hang out on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and my dog and let my hair take care of itself :D

Added bonus? 0% chance of heat damage and no unpleasant burn smell that my hair always has when I use a curling iron.