My hair is very baby fine, and as thin as you can imagine, but it has an enormous amount of body, which can pouf at the slightest damp breeze or flatten out something fierce if I dry it wrong. It is in generally good condition, highlighted blonde, and prone to dryness, frizz and breakage. It would be typed a mixture of 2's, with a little bit of 3a in the back.
The front, sides, and overlayer in the back (so if the back were horizontally divided in two, the top part of that) are all wavy in loose S's and look good with little effort, and a little bit of gel. The hidden underlayer of the back is crazy zig-zaggy curly, so much so that practically anything I do there makes it look like a mouse has chewed out the middle of it because the straighter bits above don't connect to the curlier bits below and the result is overly thin, flyaway hair, that can also look stringy.
In the past, I addressed this issue with curly cuts, which would end up chunking my hair into curls in the back, and looked pretty with little effort. Since I've moved to NYC, I've been unable to find a hairdresser who I can afford and who knows what they're doing. The trouble with my hair, apart from the crazy undercurl, is it's so thin, one false move, and I'm all but bald in the back. As a result I've had literally the four most disastrous haircuts of my life in the last few years, ending up with some sort of unasked for Carol Brady shag thing, bangs in the back, and worse. I finally found a knowledgeable affordable stylist in all ways, except cutting for curl, so I finally took the opportunity to grow out my hair, which I'd been wanting to do all my life. Now, it goes several inches below my shoulders.
I'd been hoping the crazy part would finally grow out, and begin to weigh itself down, but this has yet to happen. My stylist, meanwhile, started teaching me how to give myself a blow-out (which if done properly does solve the problem), but I'm not good at it, and even being extremely cautious, I can see my hair breaking, so I don't think this is a long-term solution — despite owning something like five hairdryers: a cap one, a round rotating brush dryer, a cool air dryer, and several kinds of diffusers. I also bought a hot iron brush that never really worked, and that I am mostly scared of; several stylists in the past have warned me against hot irons, especially.
Habits
I wash it every third day or so.
I never use a brush or a towel on it.
I only comb when it's wet.
I sleep with it up, to prevent breakage.
I use shea moisturizing shampoo and conditioner, and the like.
What Doesn't Work
I've experimented a little with no sulphate. It makes no difference.
Olive and coconut oils are too oily looking for my density.
I've tried sleeping with it twisted around itself, to help straighten it, but it mostly just ends up a little frizzier and dirtier than normal.
Braids are hard to do, and make it stick out.
Clips work to a point, but then flatten too much.
Wrapping didn't work: too flat
Wrapping around a headband didn't work either
Products
I have a graveyard of hair products in the bathroom, and almost inevitably end up using Ouidad's liquid gel because it's the only thing that isn't too firm, causing my hair in the back to break when I try to dry it naturally. It's also the only thing that doesn't make my hair look prematurely dirty.
What Works
It helps somewhat to dry my hair in a ponytail, only this tends to make it too flat.
I can't afford, and am not impressed with what I see of Deva and Ouidad in NYC. I don't dare chemically straighten it, particularly because I highlight it. I would ideally continue to wear my hair long, but mostly I end up wearing it up.
What I'd like is to find is some natural way to dry it and find an effective, predictable way to stretch the underlayer in the back so it connects to the overlayer.
Please help. |
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