Hair flicks out on one side only

[Autumn Light]

My hair is frustrating! I have shoulder length layered hair with a side parting, and it has a slight wave in it. The problem is that it flicks out on one side and on the other it curves inwards a bit, which makes it look uneven.

I used to blow dry or straighten my hair a lot to make it fall more evenly, but I've been trying to avoid using heat. Recently I've just put clips in it or tied it up, but I don't like to have to do that all the time.

Does anyone else have this problem? Or could please give me some tips? I want to either encourage more waves into my hair so it doesn't stick out on one side, or get the flicking out bit to curve inwards, without using heat.

[boomtownrat]

My hair isn't at shoulder length just yet, but every time it's been that length before, I had exactly the same problem. It even happened when I was a little kid with baby-fine, totally straight hair. Last winter I had shoulder-length hair and was CO washing, which encouraged more waves. Something in your washing method could be adjusted to do that.

There are also people who have success with plopping wet hair in a t-shirt to sort of scrunch up the waves as the hair dries, but I've personally only tried that once. Still other people wrap their hair to straighten it, and I know there's at least one thread on it around here. I tried to find it for you, but the search function is acting up for me.

[Alvrodul]

My hair did just the same when it was at that length. Extremely annoying, and there was nothing I could do about it. One side would just fall into place, the other would ... not. :shake:

[chou]

I had that problem with my hair when it was about ear length. I blow dried and round brushed it everyday to try to even it out, but it still flipped out on one side and curved in on the other. Part of the problem was the awkward length, but part was my attempts to straighten the waves. This just kind of stretched them out into "L" shaped cowlicks rather than symmetrical "S" shaped waves. I don't know if this will work for your waves, but one thing I have belatedly discovered that helps the unevenness is to encourage wave formation by "plopping" and air drying (my hair is too short for this, so I kind of "scrunch" my hair up with my hands) and using plenty of conditioner and leave ins to keep my waves defined. My hair is much wavier now, but does not have the cowlicky, flipping straight out problem. Now, instead of being uneven, my waves just curl in different directions on either side of my head, but still look even overall. Best of luck with this! I know how annoying this problem can be. My one sided hair flip is forever immortalized in my driver's license picture, so I will have a hard time forgetting it :)

[mallorykay13]

I asked a stylist about this one time and they said it was because of the growth pattern of the hair, usually circle..

[PurusNox]

This happens to me also, whether I blow dry or air dry it. I guess we've just got to wait it out until our hair gets heavier and therefore straighter :)

[Panth]

This is one of the main reasons that I have long hair. I could never be bothered with the daily straightening/curling that would be required to disguise that. At longer lengths, the weight of the hair mostly removes the problem and, in any case, it is no where near so obvious when your hemline is not up around your face.

[florenonite]

My hair does this when it's short. My solution was to grow it ;)

When it was short, I found it tended to flick inward on the side of my parting and outward on the other side. I was growing out a fringe at the time, so I often clipped the fringe back on my non-parting side and this helped. Other than that, I wore my hair up.

[joesgirl2011]

This is happening to me as well. I have stopped the straightening because of the breakage on my left side. Now an inch shorter than the right. So here i am with that same weird growth pattern with the layers too. I am waiting for that day when my hair just "changes". That day will come soon ...:) As for now i am still just putting it up, but I would rather leave it down. Sorry you are stuck with the same problem. :(

[WinterButterfly]

Do you always wear it in a bun wrapped the same direction? If o, wrapping it the other way might help. You could always just braid the hair on the sides of your face. Maybe you should try a side part though. It is better to adjust your style to your hair than your hair to your style. With a side part, it wouldn't look unusual to have your hair flipping one direction. I hope this helps.
:)

[Eternal.Fiend]

My hair does this, it's why the front of my hair is so damaged, constantly trying to get it to fall right.. Also, that side of my head also doesn't curl as well as the other (not that my hair curls easily anyway) so curling my hair was always a nightmare :P

Short of straightening your hair everyday, you can leave it and ignore it, clip the sides up, grow it out so it's less noticable or sleep on damp braids to get a new wave pattern in there :)

[Dogbones]

this only happens if you ha ve lots layers, or any layers in short hair. if its all one length the weight keeps it down

[florenonite]

this only happens if you ha ve lots layers, or any layers in short hair. if its all one length the weight keeps it down

Not necessarily. I see you've got straight hair. Hair with a bit of a wave, however, tends to do this because of the wave pattern.

[julliams]

A little bit of gel rubbed in your palms and then scrunched into your towel dried hair might just do the trick. Scrunch on either side and then leave it (DO NOT TOUCH) until dry. I bet your hair has more wave than you think it does and it might be like mine in that it needs length to make the "s" wave. Mine only starts waving after my shoulders.

[Dragon]

I also have that problem when my hair is at that length. I use to find it looked better when I tied it half up and half down.

[Lilli]

My hair did that, too, at that length. I tried to fix it with a flat iron, but it didn't work, and just damaged the ends. You just have to wait it out till it is longer and use the annoyance to remind you to never cut your hair again! That's how I looked at it once I stopped flatironing.

[GRU]

Can you clip it on the ends to weigh it down while it dries, or will it still flip up afterward?

[HairFaerie]

Ahhhhh....the dreaded "funny flippy things"!

Yes, I have the exact same problem. Left side goes under nicely, right side sticks out wildly!

Just take solace in the fact that as it gets longer, that will go away and you will have gorgeous, wavy, long hair. :)

[spidermom]

Mine too! I could never get the perfect pageboy or flip because one side curved under and the other side flipped up. I would often pull the sides up in a barrette (half up); that looked better.