Wavy canopy, straight underneath

[joyfulheart18]

I don't know if anyone can help me with this. I have layered, BSL hair. The top canopy is wavy and can go between 1c and 2a, but the bottom, underneath the canopy, is practically stick straight. It looks goofy, especially on first day hair. I was just wondering if any of you have any suggestions about this. I think it might have something to do with my haircut, has anyone had an experience with this? Do you know what I could ask my stylist for to change this? I don't believe I've always had this problem, I believe it's only been since I got the layers, but I can't be a hundred percent sure.

For a couple of years I had long hair that wasn't layered, but it wasn't all one length straight at the bottom...it curved more naturally.

Then I got a cut one day and it was cut straight across. I didn't like that, so I asked if I could have it how it was before.

She layered it, and ever since then I've had this straight underneath problem. I'm a little confused at why.

Thank you. :) Hopefully I can post some pictures soon to explain myself a bit better.

[sarahbrownie]

I get this sometimes. My canopy layers get very frizzy and curly but not my underlayers. I think it's the first to dry and often the most likely to receive damage. The more damaged my hair is the more curly, or that's how my hair is. Also, it is shorter than the rest, and is lighter, and more prone to curls. I feel the lighter my hair is the more curlier it is, it certainly has tamed since getting almost to BSL.

[Nevvie]

Mine is the opposite - very curly underneath and the top layer is more deep waves. Mine is probably due to damage from relaxers/straighteners. Plus the top layer just gets the brunt of the sun, wind, cold, brushing, touching ect. so it's not quite as healthy and the more protected under layers. Maybe you have the same problem? It's strange if it only just started though.

[Intotouch]

Mine is similar. The hair around my face is crazy curly, then the mid section is wavy and the last section is dead straight. I got this bit permed once. It looked more natural and it did not affect the condition. (Although my scalp got dandruff there) The hairdresser did it cheaply too as there was so little of it. On the down side i was told that i couldn't put it up. I ignored this after a while, with no ill effects. I went in recently to get it done again but they won't put a body wave in hennad hair. It did look good though.

heated rollers probably work as well.

[Firefox7275]

At the moment the whole front of my hair is curly and the whole back is slightly wavy. I think it's mainly down to condition but is partly just the way it grows. Maybe your canopy has gone more curly because the weight was taken off with the layers? On the curly forums some of them clip the canopy away from the underlayer so the underneath gets the space to curl without being constrained by the canopy and neck. Have you tried not brushing the underlayer but scrunching it up to encourage the wave whilst it dries?

[joyfulheart18]

Yeah, I've tried scrunching it and doing everything I possibly could, but it doesn't seem like it wants to curl. Could the ends being damaged make it straighter?

[Domna H]

Same here, joyfulheart18! Have you found any solutions?

[lorelai2012]

This can be a problem with layers. The bottom layer has more moisture, and the weight of the other hair on top of it. Also, your hairdresser may have cut your top later in such a way to maximise curls ( I only know this because a stylist did this for me once asking me if I wanted it "cut to be straightened, or cut to be curled" once upon a time), so it is more predisposed to curling up nicely on your top layer.

[spitfire511]

Just chiming in - this is exactly how my hair is, and has always been.

Is it possible that it's always been this way and you're just now noticing? The only reason I ask is that when I was younger (in the 80s wheee!) I got spiral perms and even two solutions would not perm the underneath of my hair and have it stay for more than a week or two. The canopy literally never lost the curl and would have to grow out (or cut out!)

Now I have wavy hair that I can scrunch to wurls (almost curls!) but the underneath remains straight as a board.

I guess I've just gotten used to/over it as I've gotten older. It's just my hair. However, I'm very careful to only get *very* long layers if I'm getting them. Shorter layers don't look right unless I'm heat-styling and straightening all the wave out of the top.

Good luck and I hope that you either find the answer, or if it's like mine and just going to be that way that you find a way to work around it that you can deal with!

[joyfulheart18]

I have been applying lots of conditioner to the under layer and that seems to help a lot, and I have also been braiding it slightly damp, which helps make it just a bit more curly all over. Sorry, that's about all I've found out. It's a perplexing problem. I think it might partly be from the cut or the layers, and I think as I grow my layers out the problem will be less pronounced.