My hair is driving me mad

little_miss_messiah

Hi - any advice welcome - its a long one i'm afraid

I have thick naturally v wavy hair, with the slightest of encouragement scruching and mousse i get ringlets with no need of tongs.

I'm a boring mousy brown and have been black/pillar box red, all black dark hazelnut and all sorts of shades of red in the past.

Last year I embarked on a foil expedition for my wedding, having 3-4 colours from lightest blonde to caramel and have been keeping this up as many have said the lighter colour suits me really well (better than my natural colour)

Problem is every time i get my hair done i have to have oodles cut out of it - i appear to have a mass of hair that grows faster than everything else and result is well, bushy is the only way i can describe it - and v dull looking.

I cant seem to just wash and leave it, it only looks passable with the full gamut of straightening, serum etc - airdrying leaves me looking like crystal tips adn scruching it curly i look like a messy throwback

So a begging post for either some ultra fab products

Or, given the blonde is suiting me better apparently, should i just stop the foil foil foiling, going over some of the main bits again (which i thib is the main problem) and have an all over blonde?

My hair is beyonf shoulder length and I need to tie it back for work, my face is too moonlike for a short 'do' unfortunately or i'd have an ultra funky peroxide crop

If you've read this far thanx for your patience btw

lostinrates

Your hair sounds quite like mine. I let it dry into ringlets and get LOADS ofcompliemtns about it. I'd keep the foils....it looks much better in curls than a solid colour.....your ringlets with subtle strata of colour should look amazing.

IMO, the cheapest, easiets way to keep this hair and the most beautiful is to not fight the curl. I use frizz ease and tigi curl cream usually, although I've been using a lovely soft mousse recently (aussie mousse for curls). Just wetting it nes a day and re scrunching, perhaps a little sextr produt keeps it looking gret between washes.


The only other thing is to make sure your colourist and hairdresser understands the hair type. A colourist who understands curly hair makes a HUGE difference imo....find one with similar har type whose hair you like and go to them.

gunsandbanjos

I have really curly hair too, i have just started looking at this site http://www.britishcurlies.co.uk/

Some really interesting stuff about products you should and shouldn't use on your hair. I'm just about to start CG which stands for Curly Girl. Basically you use styling products and conditioners with no silicone in them, or 'cones as they are called on the site. Also to make sure you shampoos are low 'poo, so no sulphates. Some girls don't use shampoo at all, but it is a case of finding out what suits your hair.

I have been navigating my way round the site for about a week now and i'm getting ready to take the plunge:D

I have bookmarked this part of the forum as it is a list of 'safe' products http://www.britishcurlies.co.uk/curl_forum/viewthread/215/

lostinrates

gunsandbanjos wrote: »

I have really curly hair too, i have just started looking at this site http://www.britishcurlies.co.uk/

Some really interesting stuff about products you should and shouldn't use on your hair. I'm just about to start CG which stands for Curly Girl. Basically you use styling products and conditioners with no silicone in them, or 'cones as they are called on the site. Also to make sure you shampoos are low 'poo, so no sulphates. Some girls don't use shampoo at all, but it is a case of finding out what suits your hair.

I have been navigating my way round the site for about a week now and i'm getting ready to take the plunge:D

I have bookmarked this part of the forum as it is a list of 'safe' products http://www.britishcurlies.co.uk/curl_forum/viewthread/215/

great links! i try and shampoo as little as possible, eashing in between with conditioner only (having had a real issue with this sort of thing in the past and shampooing at least daily I'm amazed this is working for me). I've also tries ''no cones'' but tbh, this was no good for me.

DH also has curly hair, and we find that sometimes products that are great for one o us aren't for the other...so I think a lot of it is just experimentation.

gunsandbanjos

lostinrates wrote: »

great links! i try and shampoo as little as possible, eashing in between with conditioner only (having had a real issue with this sort of thing in the past and shampooing at least daily I'm amazed this is working for me). I've also tries ''no cones'' but tbh, this was no good for me.

DH also has curly hair, and we find that sometimes products that are great for one o us aren't for the other...so I think a lot of it is just experimentation.

Thanks, i shampoo about once a week, twice max. Otherwise my hair is like straw. Experimentation is key, i love Boots essentials curl creme, but i have curly friends who don't like it at all.
Luckily the curl creme is cone free so i can use it in my new regime, and it is lovely and cheap:money:

flippin36

Lostinrates - I love both frizzease and the aussie mousse you mentioned - it is by far the most moisturising mousse I have tried. I find cones a must for my hair - less frizz and more slip and defined curls. I tried going coneless and it was awful.

glowgirl_2

I have type 2 a/b hair, wavy but with a defined curl if I encourage it, I have been experimenting recently and have come up with a combo of Herbal Essences in either the blue or pink bottles, using a microfibre towel (no rubbing just patting) so as not to loose the moisture I put in and best of all really cheap hair gel (23p from Tesco) that dosent contain alcohol on very wet hair, resulting in defined curls but no frizz or flatness:)

baby_fuzz

*jealous*
have always had poker-straight jet-black hair, which is really thick, any curls I put in fall out within an hour, no matter what products I use, and it doesn't really colour...
I'm stuck with straight black hair forever!

ali-t

I use oils and lots of them! Some of the oils you can buy as hot oil treatments I use on my hair and don't rinse out, it is the only way to contain it. My favourite at the moment is mashooq oil which is great. Hairdressers always comment that my hair seems to absorb products and it is like no products have been used as they just seem to disappear. TBH I could probably use baby oil on my hair and it wouldn't appear to be greasy.

Queen_of_NO_MATTER_WHAT

baby_fuzz wrote: »

*jealous*
have always had poker-straight jet-black hair, which is really thick, any curls I put in fall out within an hour, no matter what products I use, and it doesn't really colour...
I'm stuck with straight black hair forever!

oooOOoo I'd love jet black straight hair, I've got dark naturally curly hair (I dye it blue black), i don't often have it straight because there is so much of it that it takes hours at the hair dressers.

I just had a look at the CG website and didn't think it was all that, maybe it's just me

jenniewb

I think (OP) that you must already know its the heated appliances, harsh hair products (sulfates and then various types of 'cone) and the bleaching that causes your hair to react the way it has.

Basicly to reduce the frizz and hair mayhem, your only going to be able to do this by stopping all the drying things your doing to your hair (as explained above) or at least cutting down on them. A regular trim goes without saying.

Basicly the hair you have is dead. (Everyone's hair is dead- not just yours!) therefore you wont be able to bring it back to life- once its damaged its damaged. BUT you can make it look as if its repaired. You can do this by applying products- but remember that everytime you wash your hair and wash out the products, your hair will look as it did before you applied anything (with the few exceptions being where the product is too strong to be washed out in one mild shampoo).

I would recommend Phillip Kingsley Elasticizer but it is very expensive! John Lewis and QVC both sell it. Apparently the Kerastase Masquintense is supposed to be just as good but also comes with a similar price tag. Again, you'd need to do this once to twice a week and stick with milder shampoos to prolong its survival in your hair.

Others have tried 'CO' washing (only using conditioner) and using coconut oil or argan oil but I have not tried either so I can't really say either way.

Added to the above I'd say eat plenty of fish oils, protein and fresh fruit and vegetables. These will help the newer hair you have grow better and also help your body produce the natural oils which are relased from your scalp to protect the hair you do have. Theres no rocket science in it really: what you put into your body you usually get back out again, eat well you will be optimising things.