Mixed hair type, advice needed

[sunny_rae2]

My hair is a little longer than mid-back length, and the back locks have nice definitive S-shaped waves. However the front pieces framing my face (and the longer ones as well) are nearly pin straight, and moving towards the sides of my head get loose waves/tighter at the bottom. I used to use mousse in the front that created rather messy scrunched waves that blended in well with the back, but it was bad for my hair. I haven't used heat on it for six months more or less. I was doing a no-poo routine with baking soda and vinegar, then just the baking soda, but started using regular shampoo again because I was tired of the way it made me feel about my hair and made my hair behave. Curently I use Yes To Tomatoes shampoo because it is relatively healthy, but I'm going to begin CO. Anyways, is this mixing of straight and curly hair just my natural hair type that I'll have to live with, or is there something in my routine that would help my hair go one way or the other?
I have experimented around with various overnight waving/curling methods (sock curls!) but frequently I shower in the morning and can't do anything like that.

[HintOfMint]

I have a mixed type as well, and layers, so some pieces are MUCH curlier than others.

I recommend damp bunning. It adds uniform waves throughout, so it straightens your natural waves a bit and curls the straight pieces a bit. I do it all the time, I hardly ever wear my hair in its natural texture, which is 2a overall, but with 2c pieces.

ETA: Ah! I should have read better, that you shower in the morning. Depending on how often you wash your hair, could you wash your hair at night, and then when you shower in the morning, use a shower cap?

Another thing to add is possibly Caruso Rollers, depending on how early you get up in the morning. It takes 10 to 15 minutes to put in place and maybe 45minutes to an hour to set. It uses a gentle steam and is actually not damaging at all and quite popular on this forum.

Ack! another thing, the rollers only work on dry hair, so that wouldn't help if you washed in the morning unless you blowdried and I'm guessing you stay away from that.

[sunny_rae2]

Yeah I tried bunning it yesterday after my shower and last night I slept on it, but it makes the top of my hair kind of weird and flat, even though I made the bun very high on my head. The waves are nice but I don't feel like it looks good down. Am I doing it wrong?
Yeah I don't blowdry, but I could try those rollers. I just spent a bunch of money on conditioners and beauty stuff though, so I'm not sure if I should spring for those right now depending on how much they are. I'll check it out though and maybe ask for them for my birthday.

[Altocumulus]

I have mixed hair as well, ranging from 2a at the back to 3a, or even 3b on a humid day, next to my face. I just let it do its weird thing. It's best if I treat it as curly - the wavy parts are fine with that, and the curly parts are less likely to turn into a giant frizz cloud.

[sunny_rae2]

What do you mean "treat it as curly"? What does that entail? I don't do a thing to my hair regularly other than CO cleansing, so if there's a process or technique for curly hair that I could use I'd like to try to see if it helped.

[annamoonfairy]

Have you tried loose pin curls?

[Katze]

Hi Hairtwin! :)

I have almost the same 'problem' as you describe, except also mixed hair textures too.

CO washing helps me a lot, though my scalp doesn't like it, and yes, I use product (gel mixed with leave-in) to keep my hair looking OK and blending the waves, as you describe. Anything that makes my almost straight, baby fine crown hair wavy without damaging it helps my hair look more presentable.

SMTs are my absolute favorite thing - a godsend for taming frizzies, soothing scalp, making my hair actually appear shiny and smooth - but I do need product, otherwise my hair looks unkempt and stringy and unhealthy.

Personally I think fine wavy hair is the hardest possible hair type to deal with. I really, really struggle with my hair and sometimes truly despair that it can ever look good, and, no having a mixed texture makes it harder.

But you are not alone! :flower:

[sunny_rae2]

Annamoonfairy- What are loose pin curls? Is that where you pin hair to your scalp with bobby pins?

Katze- Thanks! So far my scalp has actually improved from CO, I used to get some little white pieces, I guess dandruff :'( I think winter aggravated it. But it's not dry anymore.
What are SMTs?
Does scrunching it (if that's what you do) with gel damage the ends?