stretching curls?

[tokitoki]

Hi everyone,
This may have been addressed before in previous forums, and if anyone recalls such please feel free to direct me to the right search terms, I couldn't think of much that worked.
So I grew up with straight hair but sometime around when I left for college it suddenly got wavy/almost curly, even. At first I hated it and sometimes I still do, but I want to embrace the wave and make it look good. So I have what may be some silly questions:
1) Is there a way to keep the weight of my hair from straightening out? My hair won't ever loose its frizz and unruliness, but when I braid and bun it it quickly loses its shape after a few days. And the top half never has it to begin with, as you can see in the pics. Is there some way that I can encourage my hair to be wavy everywhere and not just the bottom?
2) I notice that the less I braid/bun my hair the better the texture looks. But I want to protect my hair. Are there any protective styles that wont stretch out the waves?
3) How can I have less frizz? I know this one is silly, everyone in the world is trying to figure it out. I just oil (olive, coconut) and try not to let it bother me.

So! Pics! I can't figure out how to upload pics to albums so I will continue to post flickr links. My hands are at my waist, for reference.
Not sure if this is informative or helpful but here it is wet after combing:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7082/7175248688_cfda962e25.jpg

Here is it damp:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5459/7175249270_841246ae37.jpg

And here is it dry. This was about a month ago
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5455/7175249468_177e841104.jpg

And here's a pic after my shower today:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8159/7175249702_5306f6659c.jpg

I know that the weight stretching it out helps with the length, but I just wish it would pick a texture and stick with it, you know?
Thanks for reading!

[MyKing'sQueen]

I'm sorry, I don't have any advice, I just wanted to say that your hair is incredibly gorgeous! The shine, the thickness, the waves... Very beautiful!

[Hollyfire3]

Hi hair twin! beautiful hair! I think more length would be the only thing to really stretch the curl, but I also damp bun my hair with aloe gel in it (spary bottle with water mixed with aloe gel in it) and it makes it straighter in the morning, but you have to do it early, it takes FOREVER to dry! (mine was still wet(very wet!) this morning)

[rock007junkie]

No advice here either. Just wanted to comment on how gorgeous your hair looks.

[Changling]

To encourage curl/wave closer to the scalp (not just at the ends), have you ever tried plopping and/or scrunching? I heard it was supposed to help with that.

My hair gets straighter when I braid it damp, then take it out only when it is completely dry (pretty much takes all day :rolleyes: )

Your hair is so beautiful! So shiny and thick. Personally I love your texture, how it gradually gets curlier toward the ends. I don't think it's odd at all!

[carmac21]

Wow, you have beautiful hair!! I have hair envy right now! :D Sorry I dont have any advice, but I had to compliment you

[tokitoki]

Awwww thank you everyone!!! I was not expecting so many compliments from the lovely ladies of LHC! I honestly think these pictures make my hair look better than real life, I used the flash due to poor lighting in my room, so it looks shiny/better. I wanna throw that disclaimer out there so I don't feel like I'm misleading everyone!
Thanks again!
And this plopping idea does sound like it could help.. I'll have to try it out

[PurpleAshes]

Your hair is indeed gorgeous and to be honest I'd leave it just as it is!

But since you asked for advice:

I'm not a wavy so your hair would probably react differently, but oils really do NOTHING to prevent frizz on me. I do way better with lots of heavy conditioner used as a leave in. Since your hair is wavy and not curly, I think a little conditioner would help you. I also combine it with gel for the hold, but I don't know if that would be too heavy on your hair.

As for braiding/bunning, I never do it unless I'm sure that I won't wear my hair down. Trying to stretch my curls has never worked, all I get is frizz. But if I want to protect it or just don't feel like wearing it down, I do a heavy oiling and put it up until the next wash.

And about trying to make the top curlier.. I think that's what makes your hair intersting! The curls at the bottom are so pretty :blossom:

[lapushka]

I'd say your hair is more than just 2b. I'm thinking more 2c, maybe even a bit of 3a.

For one, I wouldn't comb or brush it too much after it's been washed, so you don't destroy the wave/curl pattern. It will definitely help with the frizz.

I don't know if you can do anything about the straighter on top, wavier down below question. Sometimes, I wouldn't mind a solution to that.

[Laur]

The best way I know of to encourage curl pattern at the top of your hair is to dry it by scrunching upside down, put some gel in it, and plop it for awhile. Don't even comb it after you rinse it - just gently run fingers through to separate curls and then flip it over and scrunch it until damp. You want to avoid disrupting the curl pattern if at all possible, and do as much as you can to encourage curls.

My hair is similarly typed to yours (I get ringlets at the bottom when my hair is long, but mostly my hair is just wavy and then flat next to my scalp), and that's what I do to get it to look curlier.

[DancingQueen]

I'd say your hair is more than just 2b. I'm thinking more 2c, maybe even a bit of 3a.

For one, I wouldn't comb or brush it too much after it's been washed, so you don't destroy the wave/curl pattern. It will definitely help with the frizz.

I don't know if you can do anything about the straighter on top, wavier down below question. Sometimes, I wouldn't mind a solution to that.

I second this, I thought the same thing when I saw your hair. It is curlier than mine, and I am a 2b/2c.

By the way, beautiful hair. :)

[Vintagecoilylocks]

Hi everyone,
This may have been addressed before in previous forums, and if anyone recalls such please feel free to direct me to the right search terms, I couldn't think of much that worked.
So I grew up with straight hair but sometime around when I left for college it suddenly got wavy/almost curly, even. At first I hated it and sometimes I still do, but I want to embrace the wave and make it look good. So I have what may be some silly questions:
1) Is there a way to keep the weight of my hair from straightening out? My hair won't ever loose its frizz and unruliness, but when I braid and bun it it quickly loses its shape after a few days. And the top half never has it to begin with, as you can see in the pics. Is there some way that I can encourage my hair to be wavy everywhere and not just the bottom?
2) I notice that the less I braid/bun my hair the better the texture looks. But I want to protect my hair. Are there any protective styles that wont stretch out the waves?
3) How can I have less frizz? I know this one is silly, everyone in the world is trying to figure it out. I just oil (olive, coconut) and try not to let it bother me.

So! Pics! I can't figure out how to upload pics to albums so I will continue to post flickr links. My hands are at my waist, for reference.
Not sure if this is informative or helpful but here it is wet after combing:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7082/7175248688_cfda962e25.jpg

Here is it damp:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5459/7175249270_841246ae37.jpg

And here is it dry. This was about a month ago
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5455/7175249468_177e841104.jpg

And here's a pic after my shower today:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8159/7175249702_5306f6659c.jpg

I know that the weight stretching it out helps with the length, but I just wish it would pick a texture and stick with it, you know?
Thanks for reading!

The only thing I can think of is Terri Laflesh method of separating the individual curls. It may reduce the weight slightly on each curl alowwing them to coil. Just a thought. Check out TightlyCurly.com

BTW Your hair is gorgeous. My daughter is the opposite. Had beautiful coily hair and now at Classic it is just slightly wavy:(

[C.H.]

Have you looked into the Curly Girl method? Some variation of that routine will probably give you the results you're looking for -- especially plopping and leaving conditioner in your hair.

[Kiwiwi]

I also believe you are a 3a. There's def. curl in your hair. Looks like mine but I'm a tad bit more curly.
I also suggest The Curly Girl Handbook/Method.
:)

[dwell_in_safety]

I'm with those saying you're probably a 3a, not a 2b. :) Beautiful hair.

I would try plopping before anything else. It works to give me waves to my scalp, but my hair is only (actually ;) ) 2b.

[earthnut]

Your hair looks a lot like mine. The Curly Girl book is good, that's basically what I used to do and it did great things for my hair.

For frizz, don't brush!!! Comb if you need to, preferably when your hair is covered in conditioner and never when wet. I find oil to be far superior to conditioner for taming frizz. You have to experiment and see what oil works best for you, but for me, a less penetrating oil is better. My hair seems to like olive oil (a moderately penetrating oil) and mineral oil (a non-penetrating oil) better than coconut oil (a very penetrating oil).

Check out the conditioner only thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2898) and the oils thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=2094528). :D

[Laylah]

We have almost the same texture! Wavy at the top and curly at the bottom :) The only slight difference is that my waves/curls are a bit tighter. Still, with the wurly/curly combo hair I think you are 2c/3a.

When I want to bring back my curl after a braid or bun, I just spray with water bring my hair back to its natural shape and add gel and lotion to define the curls. The trick is to focus the gel on the ends and curls so that the wavy top part doesn't look stringy.

[coastalnicole]

I'm a 3b, and I find that I can maintain curly hair by wearing styles like lose braids and ponytails. When I french braid/fishtail, I braid so that the curls aren't separated, but intact.

I also "plan" hairstyles according to when I'm going to wash my hair next: at its freshest, I do a style that doesn't stress or change the structure that much and shows off the curl. For example, a very loose half french braid without a pony tail holder (my curls will hold it in place). The next day, a low pony tale with an elastic or scrunchie around my hair only once. The third day, a tighter hairstyle like a sock bun. Then I wash my hair and the cycle starts over.

Sometimes I'm doing heavier work and need my hair completely out of the way--however, those days are days when I also need to rinse my scalp at the end of the day in the shower, so the water renews the curls.

Using heavier conditioners as leave-ins has helped with the frizz some, but I've just grown to accept that I'm going to have a halo of frizz around my curls.

I hope this helps!

[DarkSky]

Here is a recent thread that has a vid that might help encourage wave pattern a little higher up.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=93654
I'm guessing a loose french braid might help as well.

I think you are a 2c at most even though I see the spirals at the bottom. I bet by day two your hair is mostly a loose wave which is not typical of those in the 3s category. Just my opinion.

BTW your hair is gorgeous !!!

[tokitoki]

So I tried plopping but I ended up with a frizzy mess. I tried the last time I showered and today, but neither time did it stay up. I think this may be due to the fact that I couldn't get it to stay up on my head... by the time I gave up and pulled the microfiber towel off my hair was falling down out of the back. I would imagine the slide down against the towel is the reason for the frizz. Any tips on preventing this? Or maybe plopping just isn't for me?

[PurplePenguin]

The only thing I can really give advice on is frizz - Nightblooming's Panacea is my favorite frizz controller. I usually put a small bit on my frizz prone areas (the top of my head for me) right after I towel dry my hair and then when it dries (if it still has a bit of frizz) I put a little more and smooth it down. A little goes a loooong way with this stuff and you can find it on Etsy.

The other stuff I can't really help with as my hair used to be very curly and has suddenly lost almost all of its curl, I blame henna.

On an off note, your hair is thud worthy, very beautiful and I love the texture of it. Its kind of a romantic texture if you know what I mean, how it goes from being fairly straight to all those curls.

[lilliemer]

Your hair is so pretty! We have a similar hair type so I can hope that mine is that nice when it gets longer. Since my hair is much shorter than yours this advice may not work but I second the suggestion of an earlier poster to separate out the curls when the hair is still wet with pins. This might take some of the weight off and allow it to be curlier higher (if that makes sense). I also twist/shape the curls while still wet to give them some more structure.

The live curly, live free website has a nice discussion of how to pin up the curls after plopping: http://livecurlylivefree.com/curl%20care.htm . She also advises plopping with a t-shirt instead of the microfiber towel. Perhaps that might help?