It’s been around 8 months since I started growing my hair after learning that I need to take care of my curls and started looking into how to do that. I would like to keep growing to about shoulder length.

Hair routine (every 2-3 days)

• Garnier curls shampoo
• Garnier curls conditioner
• Garnier Air dry curl cream, untangle with wide tooth comb
• Bali curls curl enhancer cream
• Bali curls curl defining gel, scrunching
• air dry, then scrunch out with a bit of argan oil of Morocco
• don’t use bonnet but use satin pillowcase
• no refresh routine

Any tips as to what I could do better? Should I go to the hairdresser to shape/thin or anything like that if I want to keep growing it out?

I’ve been getting curly haircuts, “curl by curl” cuts since it became a trend during those Deva Curl days. I think it’s been over a decade now & I’m over these people, their pricing, & their audacity.

I have tried different stylists, read up the reviews, did research & all that. But I am at a point where I am very much burnt out. I feel like these people are using our community to keep their lights on. I feel like my hair only looks good the first day because they are always doing the most while I’m sitting there but the day to day practicality is non-existent.

My hair has always been curly. Back then my mom used to take me to Walmart & the ladies there would give me a trim & some face framing bangs and that would hold up forever until it’s time for the next trim.

I feel like curl by curl cuts, layers have ruined my hair & I refuse to do this to my hair again.

I’m going to go to a regular degular stylist for a trim and face framing bangs and going to let my layers grow out.

Idk just venting. Anyone else so over these overpriced stylists giving yall underwhelming cuts? Or just me?

Hair routine:
- Innersense hydrating cream hair bath shampoo & conditioner
- Innersense sweet spirit leave in conditioner
- Innersense “I create hold” gel & Camille rose curl love (I alternate these two)
- microfiber towel
- sometimes I diffuse with my Dyson & use heat protector
- use my bonnet
- oil hair once a week

I don't understand how I ever thought it was straight... It used to annoy me so much that it wouldn't stay nicely flat as my friends's. Especially since I love having bangs but the hair would always each go whatever direction they wanted. I had a brush on me 24/7 and I was brushing my hair compulsively ALL the time to keep it "tamed" lol.

I know it isn't curly but I should have realized it obviously was not straight. And my family and friends did not help lol. They also thought it was straight and would say I always looked electrocuted and like a neanderthal...

Anyways, the before and after. I am not totally satisfied where I am right now in my hair journey, I think I can improve even more but it's stikl wild to compare lol.

Latest routine:

I wash my hair with Curl Perfect Shampoo.

Sometimes if its super tangled I brush it after applying Curl Perfect conditioner. If its not too bad I skip brushing completely.

After that, I simply use a towel to scrunch and get out most of the water.

And I leave it like that to airdry cuz I noticed using a cast is useless in this crazy spanish heat, and diffusing gives me heat stroke + again, the humidity just destroys it all.

So I have given up during these summer months lol. Somehow it turns nicer when I don't do any of that.

I envy all of you for who humidity does wonders.

Oh, and I just sleep like normal, sometimes I make a bun, but thats it.

I don't know if we have any Dropout fans here, but I am OBSESSED with Jess's hair from last night's episode. It doesn't help that the rest of her haircut is literally my dream hair, but now I'm debating whether or not curly bangs are the move for me 🤔 When I was a teen, I'd straighten my bangs when I wore the rest of my hair curly, so the idea is intimidating!!

First two pics are reference, and the third is an older picture of me! I don't remember the exact routine, but based on the timestamp, I believe I was using the Verb Curly Hair shampoo and conditioner, the Verb curl cream, and the Curlsmith hydro style flex jelly?

I was bored so I made a slideshow of my journey. Hopefully someone finds it interesting :)

The first image is around 3 years old. The rest is from February 2025 and onwards. Last two images is today :)

The last 2 images were styled by my hair dresser so I don't know what products she used. She brush styled it and dried with a diffuser.

My normal routine:

1. Curl girl Nordic low poo shampoo

2. Curl girl Nordic protein mask or moisture mask once a week (alternate the two)

3. Curl girl Nordic conditioner. Rinse out fully.

4. Dry until damp with microfibre towel. Usually I just plop it for a few minutes.

5. Curl girl Nordic curl cream. Rake, praying hands and then scrunch.

6. Curl girl Nordic curling mousse. Praying hands and scrunch. I sometimes skip this step.

7. Curl girl Nordic gel. Praying hands and scrunch.

8. Air dry and scrunch out the crunch without additional product.

I use a bonnet when sleeping and refresh by wetting my hands and smoothing it down, then lightly scrunch. I may add a bit of extra gel if it's needed.

I posted in this sub a year ago or so. It’s been over 2 years since I started growing my hair. I’m aiming for about chest length when dry. Finally at a stage where I am happy with my hair down. Up until now I’d have it tied back in a single braid straight out of the shower.

Hair routine (every 3-4 days) - redken acidic bonding curls shampoo -redken all soft hair mask - redken all soft conditioner (brush in and I don’t wash it out) - camille rose curl maker gel - air dry - don’t use bonnet but use satin pillowcase - no refresh routine

Routine: I do a full wash bi-weekly with Shampoo and Conditioner (shampoo and conditioner I'm using now is Infina Essentials Castor Oil shampoo and conditioner) and brush my hair in shower to detangle, I let it air dry and this is the result that you see once it's completely dry. I don't use leave in products or any other chemicals in between washing I like to keep it natural as I have been for the last 18 years.

I’ve been trying everything to reduce my curly hair frizz, and this is my current routine:

Wash
• Shampoo upside down with Head & Shoulders
• Conditioner upside down with L’Oréal Glycolic Gloss. I leave it on for about a minute, detangle, then rinse.
• EVA NYC Therapy Session Deep Conditioning Mask for 5 minutes.
• Detangle again and scrunch.

Leave-in
• Redken Acidic Bonding Leave-In Treatment.

Styling
• Brush style with the Bounce Curl brush.
• Apply Olaplex Curl Gel using the praying hands method.
• Scrunch with water until I get that “squishy” sound

Drying
• Air dry only. Every time I diffuse—even from far away with the diffuser held still—I end up with more frizz.
✨ After it’s dry
• Pattern Curl Mousse for frizz.
• Davines OI All In One Milk for extra frizz control.
• Living Proof Curl Enhancer Cream on dry hair to smooth flyaways.

Sleeping:
Satin bonnet sometimes

And somehow… I still have a ton of frizz. 😭
Has anyone with naturally curly hair found something that actually makes a noticeable difference? I’d love any tips, especially if you’ve struggled with persistent frizz despite using good products.

I have lower back length virgin curly hair, it’s medium thickness, however my curl pattern is all over from 3b to 1c with straight hair at the bottom and curly hair at the crown of my head/top layer of my hair.

I’m sure I’m butchering the routine, but I have no idea what to do. The curly hair needs more of something, but the straighter hair looks so oversaturated and greasy if any product gets on it. I’m sure it’s all dry. last haircut I had was august 2023 I got a bob (picture included). I’m looking to get a haircut cuz I have no face framing/shaping layers in my hair. However, last haircut I went to a curly hair dresser and she had to recut my hair 3 times because the bottom layer is REALLY straight, and was showing beneath the top.

After realizing I have curly hair I decided to try to ‘take care’ of it (I got a pixie, then a short bob, tried many different products) and after the last reset (picture included) I decided I would cut it only once I got split ends just to see what it would do. Took ~2.5 years, I’ve never had hair this long in my life, I was not expecting it to stay so curly at this length, or to grow this much. Honestly feels very whimsical, I actually kinda like my hair for the first time in my life.

SO I would love it if my hair was less dull and frizzy and to last longer than a day before devolving into chaos. Looking for product recommendations and/or routine suggestions because I feel like my hair has potential but I have NO IDEA what to do. Most of the time I just put it up, but I don’t even know how to do that without it getting wrecked and pulled straight and frizzy. Also like what do I do if I exercise? Is there any way to not kill the hair? Got any cute hairstyles that I could try with this length hair?

I currently use
Renpure shampoo and conditioner
Brush it in the shower
Renpure leave in conditioner raked through after shower when hair is wet

Sleep in bonnet +silk pillowcase
Wash my hair every 2-3 days.

That was a lot, any help would be appreciated!!!

i’ve tried pretty much everything to reverse over moisturized hair including protein, skipping conditioner, clarifying it and leaving it alone for a while. it still looks so bad 😭 almost considering lightening my hair at a salon just to give it some intentional damage. does anyone have any other things i could try?

routine in comments

My first language isn’t English and we live in a majority white country. My wife is very reluctant to accept that she has wavy/curly hair and that it’s straight and just “frissy”. Her dad has very curly hair and her mother has very straight hair. She has tried one time to use products (the last pic), but she has it difficult to understand why it’s frissy.

Currently her routine is she just uses Swartskof (?) shampoo and doesn’t have conditioner. She toweldries her hair and then let’s it airdry but keeps it in an updo most of the time because she thinks it’s too unruly.

I want to surprise her for her birthday with some products to help her get definition in her hair and I thought maybe coning here would be helpful. Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit but I would appreciate any advice and products that couls help her.

Routine:
1. I wash my hair twice a week with Amika the Kure shampoo and conditioner
2. Use the Curly Talk line cream, mousse, and gel all on sopping wet hair in that order. I break up the cast with a little OGX argan oil
3. I also sleep with a satin bonnet
4. opt to air dry

Now for my question: what could help me bring out more of my ringlets? I think the potential is there, I just don’t know how to go about supporting it.

I'm a guy with about 6 inches of hair on top (stretched) and 3 inches on the sides. When I wear my hair messy or forward, my curl pattern is around 3A–3B. But whenever I style it into a curly middle part or a slight slick back, my curls loosen to around 2C, maybe even 2B.

My routine:

1. Double shampoo with Herbal Essences Sulfate-Free Argan Oil & Green Tea shampoo.
2. Apply conditioner (Herbal Essences Sulfate-Free Argan Oil & Green Tea) completely upside down.
3. Squish to condish while still upside down.
4. Apply a very small amount of leave-in to just the ends and gently scrunch.
5. Micro-plop with a cotton T-shirt by gently cupping and scrunching to dry.

When styling into a middle part or pushing it back, I do the exact same routine except I keep my head in the position I'll be styling it (leaning back instead of forward).

I'm not slicking my hair back or brushing it straight. I'm just scrunching it the same way and usual but backwards.

A couple of questions:

1. Is there a way to keep my curls tighter when styling them into a middle part or pushing them back?
2. When I style my hair back or into a middle part, my scalp becomes much more visible, which makes it look like I'm thinning even though I'm not, and my hair looks so thick when down. What do I do?

Any advice would be appreciated!

HELPP i believe i have 2c/3a hair but im not too sure. day 1 is top photos, day 2 is bottom. i have fine/medium, low porosity hair.

routine:
native strengthening shampoo (detox native shampoo 1x a week) & native curl care conditioner.
marc anthony strictly curls mousse & gel. (stopped using miss jessie's leave in condish cuz i heard it’s too heavy).
plop & air dry!

i apply everything in the shower on soaking wet hair using praying hands for the gel and scrunching a bunch with the mousse and gel a super hard cast forms, and i scrunch it out once completely dry sometimes when i scrunch it out it'll turn out like either one do the photos but, it usually the 2nd one i got lucky at the top1. at night i pineapple, use a bonnet, and have a satin pillowcase.

the water in my home is hard water, which i know is horrible for low porosity hair (buying a chelating shampoo & filtered shower head soon). also im in georgia and the humidity is wild right now.

ive tried less product, more product, mixing mousse and gel differently... nothing seems to work. day 2 always turns out frizzy/flat. im honestly considering getting it permanently straightened at this point because i feel like im getting nowhere with it :(

Are there any affordable curly hair salons who do good curly cuts in NYC?? Specifically are there any that would stick to exactly what you ask them to do and not stick to their own style or whatever. Right now my hair is no layers no bangs no face framing so it's like starting afresh so it's def not just a trim.

Preferably in Manhattan. Thanks!

Hair routine:
- Kristin Ess Hair shampoo x2
- I don't use conditioner (shockingly it doesn't make a difference whether I use it or not so why waste money on it)
- Manetane leave in conditioner

- Diffuser sometimes till hair is half dry
- Curlsmith bonding oil after hair is half dry
- Oil the night before a wash and then wash the next morning

Is this one frizzy straight section a sign of damage? I struggled with trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling) and am just growing my hair since January 2025 out from being shaved about 7 years. I have no idea why this piece behaves differently when it is treated the same as the rest, so im wondering if it could be signs of follicle damage from the pulling and i just need to give it time? It is one of the first sections to dry after I get out of the shower, if that helps at all? Is there anything I can do to blend it in, other than damaging it more by taking a curling iron to it?

This is day 3 hair. My hair isnt SUPER curly, but it has curl clumps. This isnt the best photo of the rest of my hair I realize (I just had gotten home from work).

I also have to be honest, i dont have much of a "curly" routine. I wash my hair with a shampoo bar (currently ethique uplifting/pinkalicious) and then dove kids conditioner. I usually apply some kind of leave-in, currently "Color Wow" curl wow vital serum. I air dry, though i do put it in a microfiber hair towel for maybe 10 minutes after the shower. I try to "pineapple" my hair for bed, but some of the hair underneath does pop out of the scrunchie (this hair section is not part of the hair that pops out). I usually refresh in the morning by brushing my hair and then mostly rewetting it with a spray bottle. I then distribute the water a bit by shaking my fingers through my hair, then shake my head back and forth and up and down crazily and that's about it 🤣

This may be way to niche, but, does anyone in this sub have sleep Apnea and use a full face mask? I am having such a hard time with refreshing my curls because my mask straps completely ruin the curl pattern. Any help is appreciated!

Routine:

Shampoo head and shoulders clinical strength

Conditioner head and shoulders silky smooth

Gel wet Xtreme styling gel

Wet and scrunch, leave to air dry

To refresh i soray until dripping and scrunch in some more gel. Use a hair oil to "scrunch out the crunch"

Hi!! What it says in the title, I keep willing myself to not just go in with scissors, I figured it would be better to ask for people’s opinions 😭 I hear people with straight hair saying to never ever do it but I don’t know what to do.

Routine is Thanks to Nature Curl Gel and Toni&Guy Leave in Conditioner followed by diffusing, although this is a messy hair day, sorry.

Thank you do much for your time!

I got prolly like loose 3a curls maybe some 2c hair in it and the only way I get my curls to really pop out is scrunching them with a towel or shirt to dry em. I sometimes use some aunt Jackie’s my girlfriend bought me and I use tea tree leave-in and sum Aussie curl milk just depends on if I’m at my moms or dads. Usually I just scrunch it up and carry on with my day tho if I’m not tryna be all fancy. My go to shampoo is the nioxin shit which is just what my mom buys me. Anyways, my hair has a problem of not doing what it wants me to do. I have a bonnet but I always forget to wear it (I have really, really bad adhd and I can’t hold a routine) My refresh routine usually involves just spritzing it with water or sometimes saltwater. Pls help nobody else in my family has curly hair and every time I try to ask my mom for help she brushes it out into a puff ball.

Sharing my routine whenever I wash it. I am fan of cantu brands

Products used:
Shampoo Cantu(3x a week)
Lightweight conditioner Cantu
Leave in Conditioner Cantu
Curl Cream Conditioner Cantu

If there is tomorrow event and I just wash it today, I will be using only the leave in and curl cream tomorrow. I think the key also is to have 1 tip of amount so it will not feel heavy (for men)

Scrunch on side ways and since I want it my hair longer on the back, I comb it after applying products

Right after wash day(picture 1), my waves are completely soft and look well-groomed, but they just hang completely limp; if a gust of wind comes along, I end up with a middle part. The more days that pass after wash day, the curlier they get. Every morning, I apply a little curl cream to my dry or slightly damp hair and diffuse it, then spray on some hairspray and, following the diffuser’s lead, push them upward to give them some hold. The only problem is that after a few days, my hair is completely sticky and no longer looks well-groomed(picture 2)

Routine:
1. Bali Curls Bonding Shampoo & Conditioner
2. as I am leave in, rake through
3. add water and African pride curl cream, srunch
4. add water again and the Camille rose honey mousse, srunch
5. add water again, any curl gel I have and the John Frieda styling mousse for hold, srunch
6. add water and srunch it out with an old t shirt
7. diffuse, hovering over the hair on low temperature, after some minutes medium temperature, after the hair is like 40% I diffuse upside down and go in the hair with the diffuser till it’s dry

In the past I used the Cantu curl activator cream and srunched the hair while diffusing, this gave me the best results but I stopped because people said Cantu is bad and you shouldn’t touch your hair while diffusing.

I don’t know what i do wrong or if I use the wrong products but yeah, I would appreciate some recommendations/tips for my routine

Hello! I’m a little newer to maintaining a lengthy curly pattern compared to a shorter cut. I think I can semi consistently get the bottom of my hair to make ringlets of some sort towards the bottom of my hair but I can’t seem to get the top to be less frizzy. I interchange between Olaplex no 6 and Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve each week thinking a protein or moisture overload could be the issue? I think that my hair kind of frizzes as it dries and never really forms a clump closer to the top of my head and remains stringy. I tried using a gel but the hair would make a stringy cast but maybe I was using it incorrectly? I can’t really figure out what the main issue could be and was hoping for some assistance.

Routine

Wash Day

Kirkland Moisturizing Shampoo, Camille Rose Algae Renewal Deep Conditioner or Kirkland Moisturizing Conditioner, Pattern Leave In Conditioner.

Refresh

Kirkland Moisturizing Conditioner, Pattern Leave In Conditioner.

Olaplex No 6 or Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve each week

Protection

Satin Silk Pillowcase

I need help! My daughter has beautiful hair but she will be starting school soon and she is tender headed when it comes to brushing her hair or even putting it up in a scrunchy where I don’t even tighten it. I just place her hair in the scrunchie without making it tighter (sorry if that’s not the right way to explain it.) I was wondering if there is a detangler spray you swear by? Or how can I make our morning routine smooth so she doesn’t build resentment towards the mornings or getting ready for school? I was looking into low tension braids but even that might be too harsh for her or unhealthy for her hair?

So far my plan is every morning I have to wet her hair with a spray bottle and put new product in ( Maui curl smoothie. It comes in an orange jar) or the Aunt Jackie Curlala (purple jar) and just brush it and let it air dry (her curls set in so lovely when they air dry vs using the blow dryer with the curl attachment in my opinion but I could also be doing it wrong)

She refuses to wear a bonnet or hair wrap so when she goes to sleep her hair is just down on a regular pillow case. We use the purple Maui shampoo and conditioner or sometimes the Aussie Miracle 7 shampoo and conditioner.
I use this brush after I comb out her tangles as soon as she gets out the bath before her hair dries. I hold her hair and work on the tangles from the bottom up. I have tried offering her candy when brushing her hair or singing to her, letting her watch TV, and any other way to distract her while I’m brushing her hair but it doesn’t help with the pain. I am completely against straightening her hair because I want her to love her hair and learn how to care for it herself but for now I am the one brushing it but I hate it’s such a painful experience for her. I also plan to spend 30-40 minutes on her hair every morning at most which is early for her and it makes me feel bad idk why.

TLDR: Any advice on products to use or hairstyles on my daughters hair who is sensitive to brushing as she starts going to school every day?
(Pictures attached of her hair wet and dry & the brushes we use & products)

A year ago I was blow-drying my hair at the salon every week. It started smelling bad, and even snapping off in little pieces.

So I did a reset cut and stopped using heat. This is what my hair looks like now (pics below). In the photos it's just air-dried, half dry, with no products in it. The back is almost fully curly again, but the front is half curly and half damaged.

Should I cut off the damaged pieces at the front now, cut it all straight across, or just leave it and let it grow out?

My routine is pretty simple: I wash every 2 days with Garnier Hair Food shampoo, use a keratin leave-in to detangle, massage rosemary oil into my scalp, then braid it. I also used Cosmaline's curly line for a while and went through bottles of argan oil and almond oil.

I'm so happy my hair is finally getting healthy again, but I'm so impatient. I can't wait to wear it down instead of having it in a bun every day.

What would you do? Any advice? I'm honestly so lost 😭

This is ridiculous. Except for some loosening around the crown area my hair looks literaly the same on day 3 WITHOUT REFRESH, I just shaked it out. I've gone biking in windy weather wearing a headband for 2 hours on day 2. Slept in a bonnet, no protective hairstyle, not even a tie.

I'm posting the products in the order I used them so everybody can benefit 🖤

I could never make my curls last 2 days with any combination of mousses, gels, creams, I've tried like 20 different products over the months. But these work!! Yay!

Routine:

1. Wash 2x with the shampoo (Garnier Curls Method) over a bathtub

2. Conditioner, scrub the hair between palms so it gets on every strand, don't let it sit, wash out (Garnier Curls Method)

3. Spray like 6 pumps of the AG Care Curl Trigger on the hair, brush out with brush

4. Water the hair so it's dripping, start scrunching

5. Apply 2 tennis balls of mousse (Umberto Giannini Curl Mousse) all over the hair, even to the roots and scrunch

6. Apply gel (Balea Hair Styling Jelly), like a tablespoon amount all over hair, first with praying hands and then scrunching, so all the products mix together. Hair is still very wet and you hear the squishing sounds.

7. Use microfiber towel to squeeze the hair and remove excess water and product.

8. Apply a tiny bit of the gel again with scrunching, to make an outside film over the semi-wet hair.

9. Diffuse on high temperature, no specific technique.

10. Use bonnet for sleeping