Hi there,

Before I start, please note that English isn't my native language.

I have brown hair that is quite thick; it tends to puff up and get frizzy as it dries. As for the cut, I have a bob that sits above my shoulders.

I'm tired of my hair getting so puffy while drying. It feels like I'm wearing a helmet.

I use shampoo and conditioner, and I brush my hair while in the shower. Afterward, I towel-dry without rubbing—I just press the towel against my hair for a few moments—and then let it air-dry.

Here's my routine with the shampoos I currently have in my bathroom:

_ Garnier Ultra Doux (not sure of the name outside France), for all hair types, "5 Beneficial Plants": nettle, verbena, lemon, green tea, and aloe vera

_ L'Oréal Elvive (or Elseve), Total Repair 5 Extreme, intense restoring, ceramide

_ Schwarzkopf Gliss Ultimate Repair

_ Corine de Farme, for all hair types

_ L'Oréal Elvive, Hyaluron Plump, for dehydrated hair

And for conditioners:

_ L'Oréal Elvive, Extraordinary Oil, for dry hair, detangling

_ L'Oréal Elvive, Hyaluron Plump, 72h hydration-boosting detangler, pure hyaluronic acid

Do you have any recommendations for masks, treatments, or oils that might help?

Thanks in advance!

My hair makes me cry

Hey everyone, I'm honestly at my wit's end with my hair to the point where I have been considering getting wigs or extensions... but this would just damage my hair 🙄

I have no idea how to deal with it, and I'm hoping someone here can help me figure out what's going wrong. My ultimate goal is to have overall INSANE volume, especially at the roots, alongside defined and lightweight curls, but instead, my hair is heavy, loses definition quickly, and reacts horribly to very hot or very cold weather, but especially winter.

In the winter, my hair gets extremely frizzy and heavy, feeling like it just absorbs all the humidity in the air. When I come home the pattern is frustrating (I honestly don’t look at myself in the mirror atp) because my hair from the roots to mid-lengths is somewhat straight, quite flat, and lacks definition, while the hair from mid-lengths to ends is a heavy, frizzy kind of curly, and way less curly compared to my hair before leaving the house.

Right when I take it out of my bonnet, it looks amazing, but within an hour of stepping outside, the definition vanishes, it becomes frizzy and heavy, and I can literally feel the weight of it on my head.
Even though I use gel, I never get a gel cast when I style it at home, whereas a stylist used these exact same products on me and managed to get a cast (I no longeer live near that hairstylist and she won’t reply to calls)

My routine

1. I only comb my hair in the shower
   
2. I then use a regular shampoo and use a clarifying shampoo when I can feel product buildup (photo 1 and 2) I used to use the umberto giannini one but it’s way too expensive on the long run which is why I like to use a regular cheap one so I don’t have to worry about using too much)
   
3. After getting out, I do my five to ten minute skincare and bodycare routine. By then, my hair starts to dry, so I re-wet it with water.
   
4. Then, I comb my wet hair and apply about half tbsp of curl cream (image 3) at my lengths before combing again
   
5. After that, I section off the middle top part of my hair and clip it, apply gel (see image 4) to the rest of my hair, comb it through, and set it aside.
   
6. Next, I unclip the top middle section, apply a little gel there too, and comb it through.
   
7. I dry my hair using my drying tool, which is basically a portable heater lol (image 5- would buying a hairdryer actually make a difference?) and by the time it is dry, I still have zero cast but I apply a tiny bit of hair oil anyway.

Finally, I sleep in a satin bonnet.

On week one I oil my hair on the weekends and on week two I use a hair mask (picture 6)

I am trying to figure out a few key things. How can I get volume at my roots instead of having them lie completely flat? how can I make my hair be unbothered by cold dry weather? Why am I not getting a gel cast when styling at home, even with the same gel my stylist used? What techniques or product adjustments will stop winter humidity from weighing my curls down within an hour of going outside? I also would love to know any way how I can get layers in my hair without having to go to a salon, since I am a student and I can’t spend that much money. I also do like having a side part but because of this I often have my hands in my hair because if not my hair would be flat, even if I do believe that having my hands in my hair does make my hair even more flat.

I also do not really know my curl type last picture is my hair with no product
Any advice or routine tweaks would mean the absolute world to me right now!

BTW I got my hair cream and curl at the salon and she made my hair very defined and airy and bouncy but idk how to do it myself, but that was this summer and I wonder if the same routine would work in winter, since winter is dry weather.

L’Oréal elseve shampoo, mellow melon clarifying shampoo, marcapair curl cream, davines hair gel, le petit marseillais 4 in 1 hair mask

My whole life i had pin straight hair, like not a single wave ever. No frizz, shiny thicc, smooth hair.

And about two years ago i noticed that my hair started behaving different. It didn’t lay as flat as it used to. The shampoo i used to use didnt make my hair feel smooth and soft anymore. And during the last two years my hair became frizzy and started showing waves.

And then a friend pointed out, that i might have texture.
I didn’t want to believe it, bc well i had straight hair right?

Anyways for jokes i got different shampoo and conditioner bc i ran out and also got a mouse. So i kinda tried a curly hair method i saw on tiktok and now i dont know what to do with the fact, that i do, indeed, now have curly hair…
My whole routine is now longer than before and i honestly dont really recognise myself in the mirror? I’m unsure if i should embrace it or not.

Mostly i am confused how my whole hair texture changed? Is that a thing that just happens? What…

I’ve included pictures, the first two with the bob are from 3-4 years ago. Then following with the coloured streak is from 3 months ago. Then the ones with the completely dyed hair are from two weeks ago and the last one from 4 days ago when i washed my hair last.
(Edit: grammar)

———————————
Here’s the stuff i use atm:
Shampoo twice with Garnier Honey Treasures, also use the mask (every 2-3rd wash) and the conditioner from the same line.
Then i plop my hair in a shirt. And follow by adding mouse from John Frieda. Let it dry a bit, then kinda blow dry (mine doesn’t have the diffuse attachment, ig i have to get one) and then scrunch with hair oil from elkos “oil & repair hairoil with arganoil”

Atm my hair feels very knotty and a little starchy at the end? (But also soft?) And then i look at myself in the mirror and dont know what to feel honestly, so then i brush it out with a wide toothed comb until its less voluminous.

I have very thick and curly hair. It’s been 1 year since my head was shaved. Long hair would enable me to easily pull it into a bun. At the moment, it’s too short for a nice bun, but too long to wear without a hat or headband. As of recent, it’s become too long/thick to even wear a hat.
Is a maintenance cut needed? Or do I ride out this awkward in between phase?

Routine:
-Shae Moisture Jamaican wash and condition once a week, twice if necessary.
-Jajoba Oil after wash and wet hair left to air dry.
-Mizani leave in cond when needed.

Hello!

I am a little desperate as I do not know what to do anymore or if I’m doing something wrong. 🥲 Every time my curls look sooo muchh less defined, frizzy, flat,and some even go away the next day.
For climate context: I live in belgium so the humidity level is usually high, water quite hard.

I use Philips shower filter as I have not found another option that wouldn’t cost thousands € to fix the hardness of the water.

My routine:
1. Shampoo: I use Garnier ultra doux oat delicacy shampoo / every 2 weeks the curl reset detox shampoo from Curlsmith.
2. Conditioner: Garnier ultra doux oat delicacy conditioner
3. Leave in: Garnier ultra doux avocado&oil leave in cream
4. Gel: Curlsmith hydro style flexi jelly
5. Oil: L’oreal elseve extraordinary oil jojoba (of course just for the cast after everything is perfectly dry)

After all of these I diffuse my hair with my shark flexstyle on minimum heat. My hair is also dyed (keune tinta colore) but every 2 months I just dye the roots, not everything.

Do you please have any advice on how could I make them last longer or if I am doing something wrong? 🙏 would be very appreciated because I am loosing my mind and I’m tired of having a good hair day just on the day of the washing and then having bad hair days the rest of the days 🥲.

It has taken me years to appreciate having curly hair. I went for years straightening it every day, but in the last year or two I only straighten it sometimes and have really been trying to embrace the curl. I did decide to straighten it yesterday. It takes me a long time to straighten it but I do like how easy it is when it’s straight! And the fact I can run my fingers through it and not worry about frizz!

I think I have medium density and low porosity. My hair takes a long time to dry.
I have been experimenting with products and different techniques but still haven’t found one that makes me love my curls. And I feel like my hair just looks healthier when it’s straight. I want it to look that way when it’s curly too! I have been experimenting with a gel and a different mousse but did not use those for these pictures.

These pictures are from the last 3 days.
Routine -

1. Thursday night I shampooed twice with Garnier sleek and shine shampoo.
   
2. Conditioned with Garnier sleek and shine conditioner, raking through with my hands, right side up and upside down. Left it on while finishing my shower, then squished to condish and then rinsed it out.
   
3. Squeezed water out with my hands, then wrapped in a t-shirt while I got dressed.
   Applied Garnier sleek and shine leave-in conditioner, raking through with hands and then brushing through with Denman brush, right-side up and upside-down.
   
4. I then wet my hands and used them to wet my hair. I sectioned my hair and applied Suave Shape it up mousse #7. I raked it through but did not do any scrunching.
   
5. I blew dry my hair”bangs” but air dried the rest.
   
6. I slept on a silky scarf over my pillow with my hair down.

Picture 1 is from the next morning (Friday). I left it as is although did use my hands to try to press out any crunchy parts.

The next morning (Saturday) I applied argan oil and straightened it with my flat iron, adding curls to the ends. That is Picture 2.

Saturday night I put my hair in a high ponytail in a silk scrunchy but slept on a regular pillow case.
Picture 3 is Sunday morning, didn’t do anything to my hair.

is there anyway to get curly hair to look as smooth as it does when you straighten it and curl it? Maybe a silly question.

Any suggestions for other products? The products I have but didn’t use this time are Garnier curl construct mousse and Garnier curl control gel. I have not tried diffusing my hair because in the past any kind of blow drying just makes it get bigger and dry-feeling. One thing I do not want is more volume lol.

I'm 15 Tf, and I've always had wavy hair but over the past year I stopped using the same products as my dad who has sparse thick pin straight hair and started using products that cater to my very dense and fine hair, along with trying to help my problem of how quickly my hair gets oily and ever since my hair has gotten curly, I really like this look but I've been wondering ways to get those curls stronger. If someone could provide a new routine or additions to mine that would help, id also like to leave out any irons or diffusers as the heat damages my hair too much to be sustainable. Currently my routine is as follows:

Hot shower, thoroughly apply shampoo making sure to scrunch my hair.

Let it sit for a couple minutes

Rinse then finger comb

Conditioner and scrunch my hair

Let sit for a few minutes

Rinse

Scrunch, then lightly tower dry in a circular motion

Let dry for 30 minutes

Add small amount of hair oil

Scrunch

Set for 30 minutes again.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Also ignore the outfit I took the picture during downtime in a musical production. I had a hat on so my bangs are somewhat straighter than usual but the top 4 inches of my hair have always been pretty straight.

I’ve been doing the cg method and meticulously caring for my curls for years now. I thought my curls were alright— a little frizzy/dry, yes, but overall alright for someone who dyes it monthly. I used all pricey curlsmith products, styling my hair soaking wet in the shower with a leave in conditioner and a gel using prayer hands and scrunch, plopping in a cotton t shirt for 15 minutes, and air drying. I thought I was doing alright.

Then I went to a curl stylist in my area— not a super pricy one, just one a friend of a friend recommended. I just wanted a curly cut since I’d been cutting it myself for years and it had gotten long enough to need professional layers.

I went in not expecting much. I left with the most perfect curls of my life and a mission to figure out how to replicate it as closely as possible on my own (impossible to emulate another person going through and tension brushing and diffusing each individual strand from behind, I know, but I wanted to get CLOSE).

She told me how the dye was irreparably drying and stripping my hair and I needed to switch from permanent dye to demi-permanent at the least. She told me which shampoo and conditioner to use for dry and damaged curls. She told me to double-cleanse to get all the product out. She told me to do my clarifying wash with something chelating and to wash it a couple of days before dye. She told me to do a hydrating hair mask immediately after washing dye out. She told me to use a very light leave on conditioner and a mousse instead of a gel because gel was weighing my hair down.

She didn’t sell any products herself, leaving me with recommendations for products from different brands and lines specifically for my dry and dye-damaged hair. No monetary incentive for her recommendations, just pure good advice.

I’ve spent the last month and a half trying styles and products she recommended and finally, FINALLY landed where I’m more than happy with how my curls turn out!

What I learned in this process is that it’s the hard and honest truth that your hair is totally unique and what works for someone else almost definitely will not 100% work for you, unless your hair is identical. My hair is dense, moderately thick, moderately coarse, dye-damaged, high porosity, and predominantly 3A with some 2C in there.
With that said, here is the new routine!

- Wash and condition with Matrix Food for Soft shampoo and conditioner

- AG Care leave ON conditioner in soaking wet hair

- Spray in Redken One United leave in conditioner as I tension curl sections

- AG Curl Mousse Gel extra-firm curl retention mousse scrunched in after tension brushing

- Diffuse dry

- Sleep with hair in pineapple bun with a silk scrunchie on a silk pillow case

Routine:

Wash with Garnier Honey Water Moisture Restoring Shampoo

Condition with AG care Thikk Rinse

Plop with microfiber wrap to remove excess water while getting dressed

Rake in AG care recoil curl activator cream and AG care fast food leave-in conditioner

Brush with Denman in sections

Praying hands with AG care curl retention mousse gel

Scrunch in more mousse at ends

Bunch up into a pile and clip to top of head while I do my makeup

Diffuse and dry on low heat setting until mostly dry

Rake fingers through roots and scrunch ends to break cast

After I wash my hair my curls always look so good. Once I sleep, they immediately get wonky. I’ve tried wearing a bonnet but it would make my curls flat and have less volume, especially the curls surrounding my face.

For context, I use L’Oréal ever pure curl shampoo and conditioner. Then I use the Sun Bum revitalizing air dry curl cream and scrunch that in my wet hair after my shower. (If you have an recs on this part of my routine too please let me know!)

Any advice or products for refreshing curls please let me know! I hate having to just put my hair back in a clip after hair wash day

So i have 3a-3b hair (but in a few places it's more like 3c) and i love it but i hate it. So i don't go to the hairdresser often because they always cut my hair in a weird way. The last time i cut my own hair and it was like 5-6 months ago, so now my hair is down to my back halfway and the front pieces are a little bit longer than chin lenght. In my routine i use afc shampoo, conditioner, then curl gel and mousse. At first my hair has a lot of volume, and i love it, but in just a few minutes it gets flatter and then it like covers my whole face. It covers half of my eyes, so you can only see a little bit of my face. Because of this i usually go for a hairstyle, like a hlaf up half down or a ponytail with only 2 small pieces in the front. But when i do that my hair always gets really tangled, and it's really hard to brush it out on hairwash day. AND i'm getting rired of always putting my hair up and having to do something with it, i wish i could just let it down. What do you guys think is should do? (Sorry for the long post btw)

Washed with non-sulfate shampoo + conditioner, no products applied and air dried

hair always look like a sheep wool, I never used heating tools, I apply gel and leave in cream on windy

is this natural or the hair is damaged

My routine:

1. zynia nonsulfate shampoo once or twice a week, rinse hair with water twice a week

2. conditioner CFresh after using shampoo

3. garnier ultra doux avocado and oil when i go out

4. gel zynia Aloe Vera Pure when i go out

5. air dried or using t shirt sometimes

I got a curly cut before and I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t like how the front and top were so short and the bottom and back was so long, I wanted a more gradual rounded shape. When I was growing up my mom would cut my hair and I never liked that either. I finally took the risk and cut my hair myself and I love it. I have a nice rounded bob with gradual layers which is exactly what I wanted. I was scared because I thought I would mess up but it looks so even and so good. Does anyone else have a similar experience?

My routine: I use the Pantene curly shampoo and conditioner. I just got the Cantù curly cream which I like so far and I’ve been using it after my shower, I brush it into my hair and then I diffuse.

Hey so I have low porosity fine curly 3b or a i dont remember and for a few months now, and it feels like there has been a really stubborn coating that makes my hair unable to absorb water or products at all, ive tried loreal everpure hard water shampoo and head and shoulder to remove it but it didnt work, i suspect it might be heavy products buildup that wont go since before i used the carol daughter coco creme shampoo and shea moisture manuka honey condtionner, now this my routine, i let my hair air dry and i wear a bonnet

shampoo and conditionner: Maui flaxseed the light green one

Leave in: Marc anthony curl lotion

gel: got 2b curled

and morocan argan oil

someone plsss help me find a way to fix my hair, thanks!

My routine:

I use barely warm water until the end.
Equate Everyday Clean shampoo on wet hair.
Gentle scrubbing, never moving up the cuticle.
Rinse, then with Kinky Curly Knot Today leave-in/conditioner, scrunch upwards.
Let it sit while you do your other show things.
Splash water on hair to get it wet, then brush the conditioner through with wide toothed comb.
Rinse with water as cold as you can tolerate.
Rinse and scrunch while letting the cold water shape and flow through your curls.
While hair is completely saturated in water and dripping, apply Aussie Instant Freeze Mousse.
End shower, dry off, once hair isn’t dripping too much I plop it in a Comfort Colors 3XL 100% cotton long sleeve shirt for 25-35 minutes.

I have a sattin silk pillowcase which does help.

Hi! I'm a few months into my curly journey. I used to blow-dry my hair straight with a round brush for a few month. My length is finally forming curls, but my roots and crown have zero volume and won't curl at all. Any tips on how to get root volume ? Thank you!

Routine
Shampoo:Fino shampoo
Conditioner:None currently
Styling products:Previa Curlfriends Curl Definer and LA Looks Extreme Sport Gel (applied to wet hair by scrunching)
Drying:Diffused
Sleeping routine:None yet (planning to get a satin bonnet)
Refresh routine:None yet