How To Get My Curls Back???

joanne0620

I've always been desperate for straight hair, having been born with thick very curly hair. So in April last year I took the plunge and bought some straighteners and began to straighten it.

Since then I've progressed to blowing it straight but now (after looking some old photos the other night!) am desperate to be curly again!

So I dug the diffuser and the curl booster out this morning hoping for lovely perfect curls, only to be greeted with a horrific frizzy mess :eek:

Have I ruined my curls for ever or will they come back if I leave the hairdryer and straighteners alone?

Does anyone have any tips on how to encourage the curl? I don't want to have to resort to a perm as my hair is very fragile as it is through medication and so much straightening!!

All help hugely appreciated!

Artytarty

Hi fellow curly person!
I find a good hot oil treatment and then finger drying my hair on the most gentle heat and blow setting does the job. I dont like the effect of the diffuser , if I want to look like that i need only go outside on a damp day! Grrr.
I very much doubt that you have straightened your curls away permanently (although many a time I may have wished for just such a thing)
I dont know what age you are but i'm " ahem" nearly 50 and I find the sifter look of my natural curls is less harsh looking with my features now Good luck, I'd be interested to hear if you get your bouce back!
Arty.

Toothsmith

Eat your crusts??

jaspercat2002

I am the same really - desperately trying to wean myself off the straightners (I need to throw them in the bin really!)
There is a book called Curly Girl which I found brilliant. It tells you how to care for curly hair and advocates a non-shampoo method and allowing to dry naturally. If you don't want to buy the book though try googling it because there is a big following out there and you can probably get the gist of it from the net.

Maybe I will go and take my own advice now!
Zoe

lostinrates

They'll come back. I wouldn't use heat ATM.

Find the right conditioner (do the stretch test!) and products (my favs are a combination of curls rock and Frizz Ease) wash, maybe just with conditioner, product and leave well alone. No heat, etc....see what you get and go from there with products and treatments

*emsj21*

I've never understood why curly haired people would want to straighten their hair, so welcome back to the curly fold!

I second jaspercat, Curly Girl is a good book for handling curly hair. One of the tips it gives is to only use conditioner to 'wash' your hair, I've been doing this for quite a long time now and find that my hair is in much better condition and holds the curl better than it used to.

I'm assuming you're not, but just in case you are, don't brush it as this will cause it to go frizzy. I tend to just use my fingers, but if you do want to comb it use a very wide toothed comb.

Product wise I've never gotten on very well with Frizz Ease (apart from their relaxing creme which is supposed to relax the curl but I find that it makes my hair go super curly!) but can recommend Curls Rock and Foxy Curls, both by Tigi. I find Foxy Curls a little lighter than Curls Rock but use both depending on the look I want. The Curl Friends range by Umberto Giannini is also quite good.

lostinrates

*emsj21* wrote: »

I've never understood why curly haired people would want to straighten their hair, so welcome back to the curly fold!

I second jaspercat, Curly Girl is a good book for handling curly hair. One of the tips it gives is to only use conditioner to 'wash' your hair, I've been doing this for quite a long time now and find that my hair is in much better condition and holds the curl better than it used to.

I'm assuming you're not, but just in case you are, don't brush it as this will cause it to go frizzy. I tend to just use my fingers, but if you do want to comb it use a very wide toothed comb.

Product wise I've never gotten on very well with Frizz Ease (apart from their relaxing creme which is supposed to relax the curl but I find that it makes my hair go super curly!) but can recommend Curls Rock and Foxy Curls, both by Tigi. I find Foxy Curls a little lighter than Curls Rock but use both depending on the look I want. The Curl Friends range by Umberto Giannini is also quite good.

Just showing all curls are different! I can't stand foxy curls, but it is lighter!

Curl friends I found ok, and the John frieda stuff, apart from frizz ease I find very poor for my hair. Unless I'm styling in someway other thana loose tabgle of curls I use my fingers to comb when wet, when conditioner is in my hair, and NOTHING else After the styling product is scunched not combed in I don't touch it. A wind tooth, or a criss/crossed type comb are great for when I'm styling more....About twice a year for particular styles I might use a paddle brush or fine comb....

CurlyTop

I'm also a curly head. Whilst I would have loved straight hair, I decided I may as well just give in and get on with it and make the most of what I have. Years ago (when younger) I used to use mousse and a diffuser. Now I wash my hair of an evening, use conditioner and a wide toothed comb to run through it. When I get up in the morning, I admit I do look like Marouane Fellaini's lovechild (go and google him - Everton FC footballer!!), so I just dampen it and then run some of Trevor Sorbies Curl Cream through it and it dries whilst I'm having a cup of tea and toast and then Im good to go. Failing that, I use Avons' curl serum of a weekend (cheaper on the purse) and its not too bad providing you don't use loads cos then it looks greasy.

joanne0620

Thanks for all your advice!

Will check out Curly Girl! :T

redj5

There is also a great website called British Curlies [yes I laughed at the name at first too!] which is a site launched off the back off the very successful American site. The articles on the British one are great - lots of info that is similar to the Curly Girl book - but the forums are also so, so useful - just like MSE they are full of really friendly people with lots of advice! Be warned though, you can be a bit overwhelmed with informatino at first!

www.britishcurlies.co.uk

yumyums

Sounds like your hair is a bit damaged from all the straightening. My curly hair is very fragile and can only tolerate small amounts of heat styling before it goes all frazzled.
When's the last time you had a trim? This could help get your ends back in shape and get rid of some of the frizz.

Also try a really good deep-conditioning treatment (mask) - one that contains protein and that is meant to repair hair. I'd go with professional ranges for this as they're much better in my opinion. The stuff that you get in boots generally contains too much oil, silicons etc. Although the professional stuff can be pricey, it's usually so thick that it will last you for ages and you should only need to use it once or twice a week.

You'll need to experiment with styling products to find what works best for you. A lot of products are aimed at "curly hair" but there are so many different types of curly hair - I've got fine hair which has a tendency to go greasy so some curly products are too heavy for me. I really like Paul Mitchell Sculpting Foam.
Boots essentials curl cream (pink tub) is a really good MSE option too. I haven't bought it for a while but pretty sure it's under £2.
Basically creme type products are best for moisture while gel ones give good hold. Sometimes I use a combo of the two to get the best of both worlds.

I put products on wet hair and either air-dry (gives the best results) or use the diffuser on the lowest heat and speed for a few minutes, leave to dry a bit naturally, then finish off with the diffuser if I'm in a rush. I find that if I dry my hair completely with the diffuser my curls lose all shape and turn in to a big puff ball!