Need help from fellow wurly/curlies! (pics)

[icallitbliss]

So my hair has grown a lot since I last tried to let my "curls" out, if any of you remember from this picture:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/photo30.jpg


It now looks like this, but it's jaw-length when straightened:


http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/photo62.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/photo61.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/photo63.jpg


I'm just...really confused on how to handle curly/wurly/whatever my hair is. All my life up until a few years ago I had really straight hair. I don't know what happened, but I've decided I want to try to go with my natural hair type for awhile.

The thing is, I have no clue where to start. My hair is so weird-- parts of it are curly, wavy, and even a little straight. It can't make up its mind!! Also, I have crazy frizz when I wear it like this as well. In these pictures I just fingercombed it after a shower, let it air dry, and scrunched it a tiny tiny bit.

I want cute curls like this!:

http://www.whairstyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Elegant-Short-Bob-Haircuts.jpg

You know, just more defined and manageable looking, if that's even possible. Can I achieve this look without heat styling?


Also my friend has nice hair, and I'm hoping when it gets longer that it will end up looking like this?

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/eleyah.jpg

[CurlyCurves]

I'm a curly, but a 3b. Type 3s and 2s likely have different techniques. I can point you to this (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=31563) thread for Wurlies, though :)

HTH!

[salamander]

First thing to bear in mind is, the only way to banish all frizz is to hairspray the heck out of your hair, add the curls back in with a curling iron, and keep a stylist and/or photoshop artist on hand for emergencies. Failing that, you'll always have a few flyaways, and that's OK.

However, you can reduce them, and you can definitely improve curl definition! My favorite approaches are to moisturize as heavily as your hair will let you and use a boar bristle brush to smooth down the flyaways down to the tops of my ears, because my curl pattern doesn't start that high up and a little brushing doesn't disturb them. Avoiding touching your hair while it dries can also help with curl definition, and some people like gel as a leave-in as well. Experiment a little, and work with the hair, not against it. Good luck!

[earthnut]

You might be able to achieve that. Natural curls have a mind of their own though, so part of the process is learning to accept their idiosyncraces too. ;) I recommend stopping all heat straightening (it takes a while for your hair to fully recover from even one straightening) and trying the conditioner-only / curly girl method. Come join us at the CO thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2898). :) Here's some resources I've found useful:

http://naturallycurly.com
http://livecurlylivefree.com
http://scienceyhairblog.blogspot.com/
The Curly Girl Handbook

[ratgirldjh]

I think your hair looks way cuter than any of the pics you posted.

I just found out I have wavy hair myself after going CO with cones and am still trying to figure it out as well!

[CurlyCap]

You should know the blonde curly (that you showed a picture of) is sporting hot-tool curls.

She may be a natural wavy/curly, but in that picture, the curls are from heat. The sections/clumps are perfectly even and the curl pattern doesn't start from the root (which is odd with a curl that tight).

Just don't want you to hold yourself against a manicured image.

I really liked your pics in the green top. If anything, it just needs a bit of very light product to stop flyaways. I sure you could find something to apply to wet or damp hair with a little experimentation.

[earthnut]

I think you should rock the 20's flapper look you have now. It's very cute! :D

http://images.beautyriot.com/photos/dianna-agron-short-bangs-wavy-bob-tousled-blonde.jpg

[Clytemnestra]

I'm a wurly myself and have been doing a CO following with a coney conditioner for ages because I felt I needed that extra slip to detangle. I finally took the plunge last week and decided to go no cones using Suave Naturals Wild Strawberry as my CO, followed by a small amount of L'Oreal Eversleek condish if I feel the need. Sometimes I just go straight to my vinegar/water rinse, then a minute amount of Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose as a leave-in.

I'm really pleased that my hair is super soft with very loose curls that have lots of volume, kind of like your last pic. With the cones they felt weighed down, but on the plus side my hair was straighter for some styles, so I'm not going to dis using cones, just depends what you want I guess. I'm just experimenting, but liking the results so far. I think I might try this flax gel recipe for scrunching http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Flaxseed-Hair-Gel.

Do check out the wurly and CO thread, you will get some good tips, good luck!

[earthnut]

You should know the blonde curly (that you showed a picture of) is sporting hot-tool curls.

That's likely true. Always consider celebrity pics with a large grain of salt. Most of them would never appear in public without professional styling.

I love this thread (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/general-discussion-about-curly-hair/47609-post-your-before-after-cg-pics.html) because it's all natural waves and curls. Some people are using heavy products, but no heat set curls here! It's inspirational to see what curls can do with a little TLC and moisture. :D For the OP, this woman (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/615885-post115.html) might be particularly inspirational. She is for me. In this post (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/617121-post141.html), she describes her routine.

[brave]

I think that picture also has some layers but I'm not sure. Maybe one of the resident stylists could tell you. In addition to the blogs earthnut linked, Padaheh's blog (http://pedaheh.blogspot.com/) is useful as well and I think you may have similar hair types.

[earthnut]

Oo! I found another great blog! http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/

[brave]

Oo! I found another great blog! http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/

She is awesome! I love how scientific she is about the whole thing. I love livecurlylivefree and friends but it gets a little annoying to consistently see cones vilified as a "NO NEVER THEY WILL KILL YOU" thing.

No-poo jillipoo (http://jillipoo.blogspot.com/) is good if you decide to go the whole no-poo way.
Colorado Curly (http://coloradocurly.wordpress.com/) and Pittsburgh Curly (http://pittsburghcurly.wordpress.com/) both seemed to have stopped updating years ago but they have a lot of info and I believe are both LHC members.


Earthnut we need to compare blog lists one of these days.

Edit: Colorado Curly updated recently, I'm just dumb and was basing it off the intro post date.

[Lostsoule77]

I have yet to go CO, but my waves are already way more defined that they were when I joined here. I stopped brushing, instead only finger combing or using a wide tooth comb. I only shampoo my scalp, rinse, then condition. While the conditioner is in my hair I detangle then rinse. Then while my hair is still dripping wet I put in a little more conditioner as a leave in and give it a quick detangle and scrunch. Then I just drip dry. I also try to use coconut oil overnight before every wash, but it tends to only be once a month (I only wash once a week.) This routine produces the waves in my sig pic.

I learned that from a member here and it works well for me. Probably a good starting point until you find a routine you really want to stick with.

[spirals]

My hair is just like yours: some waves, some curls, some straight bits. When it was jaw-length, it looked wavy like yours. As it grows out it will probably develop more spirals, which is so typical of 3a. When I had jaw-length hair, I shampooed, conditioned, and scrunched in some conditioner and gel. If there were any bits that stuck out funny I pinned them somewhere to the side. Or I did a cute, puffy ponytail kind of high on the head, right about crown level. People loved it.

[Charybdis]

That Natural Haven site is really interesting. She has the best explanation I've seen of how kink and curl are different phenomena (http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2011/05/curly-vs-kinky-what-is-difference.html). This was helpful to me, because I have more than a few hairs that kink but that do not spiral, or that spiral irregularly -- now I've found an article that I can point to when trying to explain the difference! My DH, by contrast, has overall much curlier hair than mine, but almost wholly without kinks -- if you look at one of his longer sheds, it naturally coils up into a neat little circle, whereas one of my curlier sheds often forms its own little pouf and and cannot be coiled on itself.

So nice to see a 3-D illustration of how this works!

[Lostsoule77]

That is brilliant because I never knew the difference and I'm a visual person! Thank you! Seems like that whole site is good & I think I'm gonna check it out a bit. :D

[Tigermama]

Your waves are awesome! Whe your hair has a ton of body and life and is really shiny. It's very much like my daughter's. For hers we just shampoo(not every time) and condition, then leave a bit of conditioner in and comb. Air dry and use a touch of coconut oil from time to time. I like how you have it one length, that is super smart. As you grow it out you won't have to trim off any layers! I'd say keep on as is, maybe try aloe vera gel on the top for a bit of control? In no time it will be sl..

[spidermom]

For frizz, keep your hair moisturized and use gel. To define curls, twirl them around your fingers as they dry.

I have crazy mixed up hair, too. If I had the option, I'd classify it 1B/2C.

[newbeginning]

I think your hair looks great in the pictures you posted. The length and texture really suit you. I have wavy hair but I'm sort of lazy and my wave pattern doesn't really seem to "stay" unless I put a huge amount of product in and use heat styling so I just leave it as is.....so I'm a afraid I can't really help you with the styling aspect.

[chou]

Your waves look lovely! A bit wavier than 1IB, I think, but it's hard to tell at that length. You might be somewhere in the 2's. I understand that waves can be confusing to deal with when you're used to straight hair because my hair was relatively straight until my twenties, at which point I discovered my waves when I started growing out a pixie cut.

The first thing I've learned is that it gets easier as your hair gets longer. I'm at shoulder now and the weight and length of my hair keep the shape of my hair looking relatively normal even on bad days and the frizz is slowly reducing because there are less short hairs to stick up on my crown and around my face. You may also find that your wave pattern gets more uniform as it is allowed to express itself over a longer length of hair. I still have weird straight flyaway pieces by ears, though, so it's always kind of adventure. I don't know what's going to happen when my hair gets longer.

The second thing is that styling products are totally necessary! The whole, "just use a dab of aloe gel or oilve oil oil" thing does not do the trick for me. Your hair seems significantly less frizzy, more shiny, and finer than mine, but still, invest in a good gel or curl creme and your hair will form more controlled, individual locks and hold for longer. Shea Moisture curl and style milk is a really nice consistency and hold for wavies. Garnier Curl Calm Down is super de-frizzing as well.

Good luck and have fun with your hair!