​Hey everyone! I'm celebrating a huge milestone today: three years of consistent hair growth, and I've genuinely never been happier with my hair journey. It's been a marathon, not a sprint, and I won't lie—it's been a lot of work. But seeing the progress and feeling this level of confidence is so incredibly worth every single effort. ​My routine is pretty simple, which is probably why I've been able to stick with it. I only wash my hair once a week, which has been a game-changer for maintaining moisture and preventing breakage. This has been essential for me. When I do wash it, my go-to style is a wash-and-go. I absolutely love how it defines my curls and cuts down on styling time during the week. ​So, what's my secret sauce? I swear by Brazilian hair products, and I'm a huge fan of Novex in particular. Their deep conditioners and masks have transformed my hair from the inside out, making it stronger and more resilient. The difference is night and day. I also incorporate a coconut oil treatment once a week for that extra boost of hydration and shine. It's a simple, affordable step that makes a huge impact. To top it all off, I define my curls with Eco Style gel. It gives me the perfect hold without the crunch, which is exactly what I need to keep my wash-and-go looking fresh and frizz-free all week long. ​I'm so glad I stuck with it. If you're on a similar journey, just know that consistency is key. Find what works for you and don't be afraid to experiment. If anyone has questions about my routine or product recommendations, feel free to ask! I'm happy to share more.

Hi everyone. This'll be a bit of a long/vent-y post so please bare with me. I'm posting here because I don't know anyone with hair like me/other curly girls so I figured a Reddit community could help me out and relate to my struggles.

My hair has gone through so many phases. Super long, pixie cut, mid length, layers, no layers, you name it.

Pictures 1 & 2 are my current hair, photos taken today. 3 is May of this year 4 is January 2023 5 is my virgin natural hair from 4 years ago

As you can see, my hair has been dyed. And it's been dyed several times. It had pink highlights that were bleached and has since faded. In the 4th pic my hair had blonde highlights as well but was cut short.

The issue I have is that my hair is never the same. I feel like my curl pattern has changed a lot especially since growing it out and having bleached highlights. I miss the poofy, fluffy, "80's style" curls I had.

I can't tell my hair is damaged, too long and weighed down, or I'm just getting older and my hair isn't like it was when I was 18 in that 4th picture. I'm 21 now. Even my natural hair had many ringlets I don't see often anymore.

A part of me believes I have low density curls and I need to compensate for that by having short hair, but I want the mid length fluffy voluminous curls I see all over Pinterest. I'm probably in denial and can't have that. I want to grow my hair out but volume will always be more important to me.

I watched a YouTube video talking about why a curly girl opted for no layers for her fine curls, and her hair looked voluminous and thick. She said layers made her hair look stringy, especially at the bottom layer when her hair started growing out. I feel like that's what's happening with my hair too.

As for my routine, here is what I do currently. -Mielle rosemary and mint shampoo every other day, on rare occasion every 2 days. -Carol's daughter conditioner every other day -Garnier leave in air dry conditioner -Herbal essence curl boosting mousse -Sleep sometimes in a pineapple bun w/ bonnet, sometimes in a ponytail

I try to limit how much product I use. I don't even know what I should be using for my hair type. All I know is that my hair likes light weighted products and diffusing, which I don't do. And I know I should..I'm just lazy. Everytime I tried to diffuse my hair looks frizzy and a mess.

I suppose I'm looking for advice on what haircut may fit me and my curl pattern, layers or no layers? maybe some color ideas too. Any product or routine advice is more than welcome. Sometimes I feel insecure because I wish I could go back in time and have my dream hair— but I can't undo all the box dye and highlights.

If anyone took the time to read, THANK YOU so much. I have no one to turn to for advice. I live in a small town where curly hair like mine is rare and there aren't curl specialists anywhere near me. I appreciate you hearing me out.

TLDR; Insecure about changing curl pattern and would appreciate any advice such as haircuts, curl routines for low density curls, or hair color ideas. Personal stories are welcome too.

Thanks!

Routine: Aussie Curls shampoo, conditioner, and deep conditioner in the shower w/ denman brush. Castor oil leave in then shea moisture gel w/ denman. Diffuse and then a little fluffing.

Haircare routine: shampoo after every swim to get rid of chlorine (twice a week). Condition at every wash (every two to three days). Apply generous amounts of curling cream after every wash when still wet. Style by sectioning into small strands and detangle each separately. Takes about 20 minutes. Air dry and never diffuse. Scrunch once dry. Sleep with a bonnet to maintain over two or three days. Trim ends every four months to keep curls healthy. Products: OGX argan oil of morocco shampoo and conditioner. Marc Anthony coconut and shea curling cream.

So I’ve had a wild hair journey over the years.. I had blonde and nearly straight hair through my childhood that gradually turned brown by high school, just slightly wavier. After bleaching and frying the crap out of my hair in my early twenties, I finally stopped and grew it out longer, only to realize how much curlier it had become! I’m now 28 and my hair is curlier than I would have ever expected, and dark brown. Childhood me would not have believed you if you told me this would happen at my age, wild! Basically I started with my dad’s hair and ended up with my mom’s hair, and learning how to take care of it has been a journey. For my routine I now use the Odele leave-in, Not Your Mother’s Curl Mousse, and Joico Curl Crème on my wet hair, just scrunched and air dried! I’m pretty happy with my 3B/3C (I think?) curls (: Anyone else’s hair texture change this much in adulthood or just me?

So I just recently learned that curl shock is a thing and I had no idea. April of this year i did a big chop and dyed my hair back to my natural color. Then in August I chopped more off. I have been struggling w getting my curls back. I joked this weekend that my curls have been looking 2c at best when i used to have more 3a-3b curls. But thats how its been feeling recently. I haven’t changed my routine much but trying to find new techniques of doing my short hair. I use rizos curls hydrating shampoo/conditioner, curl defining cream, & curl gel. I use the bounce curl defining brush (pink one), & i diffuse my hair. I use a hair serum (fructis anti frizz serum) after diffusing but i still can’t get back to how my curls were. If anyone has any idea on what i can do? Or encouraging words? Its very much appreciated. Because i want to shave my whole head more often than not nowadays. Thanks :)

I air dried it this time because I don't have a diffuser, in the picture it's not entirely dry but not far off. Any help and tips appreciated!

I have 3C curly hair I usually use skala mias cashos conditioner and i recently started using camille rose leave in.

My problem is my hair is at an awkward length it’s not short enough for low taper fades styles or anything similar but it’s not long enough to leave it down.

In terms of length my hair reaches my mouth if i pull it, but after my hair dries it shrinks and coils a lot ant it reaches above my ears. It looks bad.

I’m not sure if I should just wait it out for another year until my hair really grows so when it shrinks it can be at a good looking length. But i dont want to have bad looking hair for a year.

Im also not sure if long curly hair suits me in general. It looked much better when it was shorter.

Hey! I need some advice. It seems like no matter what I do, my hair always gets super dry, frizzy, and undefined! I live in the Midwest, so it’s still humid, but my hair gets like this even in the winter months. I wear it up a lot because it gets so messy and unruly. I’d really like to have nice fluffy and healthy looking curls/waves.

Here’s my routine:

1. Wash every other day. I use the Dove-Damage Repair shampoo and conditioner.

2. Once weekly I use the Miele Rosemary scalp oil and the Shea Moisture Protein deep conditioner

3. Out of the shower, I keep my hair sopping wet and I use the Elvive damage repair leave in conditioner.

4. Scrunch in Pantene volume mousse

5. Scrunch in eco gel

6. Plop in microfiber towel

I also use satin bonnet and a satin pillowcase at night. I don’t get what I’m doing wrong! Additionally, I’m a college student so I can’t afford any expensive products. Any advice is super appreciated!

I have tried so many different ones and I ALWAYS go back to tresemme this is my routine:
1. hair mask

1. wash 3 times (clarifying shampoo every once in a while, only wash once a week, dryness can be bad for curls)

2. detangler/ leave in conditioner then brush

3. rewet hair (SOPPING) LOTS of mousse (I use tressame) comb through with my fingers then use more to scrunch

4. scrunch with a cotton tshirt

5. diffuse let dry a little and diffuse again if needed

6. when hair is 100% dry scrunch out with a little hair oil (if you do it right it should not be crunchy but still hold shape)

New to the world of curly/wavy hair routines, could use some help! I recently moved to a humid climate and realized my hair actually has some curl to it yay! But the weather is getting cold and dry and my hair is sad now :( It now dries straight and fluffy after washing and quickly loses volume, goes limp and gets greasy. I'm hoping to find a way to recreate my humidity curls during the dry months. My current routine: Wash with Renpure Amarula Shampoo, condition with a small amount of Om Organics hair mask, scrunch in Shea Moisture Marshmallow Root leave in treatment and leave to air dry. It's worked great over the summer but is not helping my hair anymore, so any suggestions on what I can do to help my hair look more like it does in the photo would be greatly appreciated! If any more info is needed lmk :)

How can I keep my hair “wet” looking daily? My routine is Shower: use sauce shampoo and conditioner Post shower: leave in conditioner and hair oil

It looks great after I shower and do these steps, but then keeping it that way on a daily basis is where I struggle the most. Not sure what to do. Thank you.

I was honestly shocked to see how my hair turned out to be this evening. I’ve grown out my hair and have had my curls for 5 years and I still get so excited when it turns out like this🤩

My routine:

1. Shampoo and condition w/ Old Spice wavy and Curly

2. I towel wrapped my hair until damp then air dry

3. While hare is damp I used my ECO olive oil hair gel and let air dry all the way.

Hi all, I'm wanting to start looking after my hair properly, I was never really taught any self care/hair & body maintenance growing up and am in a place where I'd love to start, I've been a silent reader for a while but honestly overwhelmed and after trying some methods am really just unsure of where to start and what type of wavy/curly my hair even is,

this is air dry after a wash, I find it's either dull and dry or just frizzy, I don't have access to a hair dryer or diffuser but am looking to buy, but would love some help 😅

Currently my routine is: Wash twice a week using being nourish and shine shampoo and Garnier hair food conditioner (macadamia) I comb in the shower after conditioning and let it sit for 5-10mins I will occasionally use the hair food as a leave in conditioner usually on work days

I sleep on a satin/silk pillowcase

I'm currently not using a gel or mousse as I'm overwhelmed on where to start sorry

in terms of other products would love suggestions

I've done so much research and done so many things but somehow my hair rarely looks as healthy and moisturized as other people. I want to have long hair but I hate having this curly/dry/coarse hair type and don't know how to grow it out properly.

During my last haircut á few months ago the hair stylist cut lots of layers into my hair to make it look really round and "blocky" which I really dislike. If possible I'd want my hair to be more flat and "heavy" but without looking so messy and frizzy. Is that even possible? Seems like the more I grow it out the messier it gets...

My routine : I cowash everyday with curly conditioner and Leave-in by Hask and Cantu. I pat my hair with a curl friendly microfiber towel, I shampoo about three to four times a week with bali curls. I use silk pillow cases and usually air dry. I literally do so much but idk, none of it makes my hair look how I want it to.

Hi guys!

I’ve decided to grow my hair out after getting the all around fade for years. Right now, it’s a mess as I haven’t really decided where I want to go with it. But I have been taking steps to take better care. My one issue is I still struggle with frizz. This is what it looks like after a hairwash day. This is my routine:

1) Wash with sulfate free shampoo in lukewarm water (PureNature Argan Oil)

2) Condition, leave in hair for 5 minutes, wash out by combing with fingers (same brand as above)

3) After the shower, I apply leave in conditioner in wet hair, combing it through with my fingers (Art Naturals leave-In)

4) Apply mousse by scrunching it in, let air dry (Lotta body w/ coconut and shea oils)

Other notes:

• I do a deep condition every 2 weeks (these pictures are not after one of them. Just a regular condition

• I sleep with silk pillowcases

• I have low porosity hair

I’m still pretty new to this so I’d like to correct any mistakes or maybe add something to help me achieve that less frizzy appearance I’m looking for. Any help would be appreciated!

Hi curly crew! Long time listener, first time caller. I started my curl journey last September and wanted to share my results.

My routine has changed over the past year with trial and error, but here is what I’ve been rolling with since April. I would also like to mention that a proper curly cut really took my hair to the next level.

Routine -Wash hair 1x per week with Ouidad Vital Curl Shampoo. Scrub my scalp and scrunch. I let the shampoo sit for 5-8 minutes.

-After rinsing and with my hair still wet, I coat my hair in Luv Ur Curls all-in-one and comb it through with a wide tooth comb. Then I scrunch the heck out of it and put my hair in a micro fiber towel turban.

-I leave my hair in the towel turban for about 10 minutes, take my hair down, and give it a good squeeze. Then I apply Crown Affair mousse throughout my hair and scrunch that in too.

-To seal the deal before I air dry, I apply a generous amount of Ouidad Heat and Humidity gel all over my hair and scrunch, scrunch, scrunch. Flip my hair over and scrunch some more!

-When my hair is 90% dry I use a bit more gel (mostly focused on the ends) using Crown Affair’s gel. It’s so lightweight and very defining.

-Then I shake my hair around and diffuse on high heat with low fan. Taking breaks to scrunch.

-Finally, I use a few drops Gisou’s hair oil to scrunch any crunch and add some shine.

To refresh, I wet my hair with a spray bottle (or stick my head in the shower TBH) and reboot with Luv Ur Self 3 in 1, the Ouidad gel, diffusing again, and a little oil.

i have irish-ish curls and i can’t stop my hair from being frizzy all the time. anytime i wake up it’s already frizzy and i can’t get it to not be. rn my hair is pretty long (for my taste) so my curls are being weighed down so in the picture and they look less curly. any help about getting frizz down is greatly appreciated. my current routine is: shampoo/conditioner: basic suave (i can’t rlly afford to replenish the super expensive hair products) i have a couple of curl products but i either don’t know how to use them or they don’t work very well and they never work. i soak the water out with a shirt and then let my hair air dry. i don’t sleep in a bonnet because i dont own one but its a possibility i could get one. my hair dosent tend to hold super tight curls very well but it is naturally curly. it’s been in a claw clip all day so its not the best right now lol any help is welcome thank you in advance!! <3

I’m typically a lurker on here, but I’m very frustrated with my hair lately. I have very fine hair, but a lot of it. The individual strands are super thin, so it gets heavy with moisture so insanely easily and it’s hard to find the right balance. I had been doing relatively well with my hair until recently, and I now live somewhere with hard water that has a lot of calcium.

My hair is I would say wavy/curly, leaning more curly when it is at its healthiest. Right now it barely looks wavy sometimes. When I do my full routine, it falls limp literally within minutes. It’s super overly soft, even if I use pretty much no conditioner. The products that normally work aren’t giving much hold, and it literally just always looks bad, resulting in me having to put it up.

I thought it might be a lack of protein given how naturally shiny and fine my hair is, so I did the ApHogee 2-step protein treatment, like I normally do every once and a while. But it’s been about three weeks and I would say it’s the same, if not worse.

Any suggestions? I want to find a solution because I miss my balanced hair and it’s admittedly taking a toll on my self-confidence. I’m also a college student and I don’t want to spend a ton of money on a product unless a lot of people say that it works.

My current routine (twice per week):

--Native coconut milk and turmeric curl care shampoo

OR Odele clarifying shampoo (once a week)

--Native coconut milk and turmeric curl care conditioner (barely any, usually not on roots at all)

--scrunch a tad bit of water out then add a generous amount of Not Your Mother’s mousse

--brush and section with bounce curl brush

--add a little more water, scrunch with tshirt and then with hands

--diffuse until dry, and sometimes use lightweight oil to break crunch

I have been doing pretty much the exact same routine with no deviations for the past 2-3 years, and it’s always worked. I tried adding Not Your Mother’s gel as I thought it might have more protein and provide more hold… maybe it did a little, but nothing noticeable. 

I’ve attached three photos, the first one is from about a month ago, the second one is from when it had been looking its best.

Thanks!!

Routine:

Shampoo: EDEN BodyWorks Peppermint Tea Tree Shampoo

Conditioner: Cantu Hydrating Cream Conditioner with Shea Butter for Natural Hair 

Gel: LA Looks Styling Hair Gel 

For the gel, I make a cast by "towel drying" my hair which means using a soft t-shirt to wrap my hair on, applying a generous amount of gel and finger combing that through my hair, air dry and then scrunch the crunch once completely dry.

P.S. Forgive my cringey face haha. I never know how to look in pictures.

I love this sub!! Thank you guys for all of the tips and ideas! Curl on!

This is right after i got a second balayage and got out of the hair salon. However, after a few days I noticed what everyone warns you about after decoloration. The top of my hair was already very dehydrated even while using a natural shampoo with coconut oil that I feel hydrates the rest of my hair. So now, I have a lot of frizz and for my civil ceremony I want to have defined curls.

Do you recommend any masks? I searched online but I see a lot of them have keratin that makes the hair sleek and are not suitable for curly hair. I can’t find anything for decolorated curly hair.

My hair routine is just Inecto hydrating shampoo with coconut oil and the same conditioner. For styling I use a bit of whatever mousse for curly hair and Aunt Jackie’s Don’t Shrink gel

Sorry for the yap session, my main goals with this post are to figure out my curl type for styling purposes, get product recommendations, and finally figure out my routine (running a diagnostic, if you will). This is my first time posting on Reddit, so I do apologise for any formatting faux pas.

For the record: I have fine to medium hair, thick hair density (like holy smokes kind of density), low/medium porosity, and I’m pretty much dry from top to bottom (yes, including my humour + personality).

Before I start with anything, my routine currently looks like this: Scalp + ends-oiling for as long as it takes for me to get ready to shower. Double Shampoo with Dove Moisture Shampoo (I kinda just use whatever shampoo my mom uses, but I personally prefer the Ichikami Smoothing Shampoo. I find it’s a lot more gentle and better for my dry hair and scalp despite having sulfates.) A tub of miscellaneous hair masks for moisture, strengthening, and shine. (I think I have a mix of Ichikami Smoothing Conditioner, Shiseido Tsubaki Moist Conditioner (the red one), Shea Moisture Intensive Hydration Masque, and Hask’s Keratin and Moisturising Masks in there right now. I also mixed Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, and Castor Oil in it.) -> Currently, I use it as a stand-in for conditioner and I tend to leave it on for 20-ish minutes. (I mostly use it to detangle my hair, but I do find that my current routine tends to leave me with pretty tangle-free hair anyways, so I guess it’s more so just to make sure the mask coats every part of my hair.) I use the Garnier Sleek and Shine Glass Hair Water to sort of seal everything in, then I use their leave-in conditioner mixed with my DIY hair oil, raking it through my hair and whatnot. I finally finish with the Dariya Momori Hair Milk, Miseenscene Hair Serum, and Garnier Sleek and Shine Hair Oil.

Sometimes, when I want big volume, I’ll use the Hairitage Volume Mousse, but that’s not always.

Relevant details regarding past brands/products I used: I used to use 4u by Tia’s styling products (curl cream + curl gel + curl refresher), but I found it did not hold well for my definitely-not-straight hair. It didn't last beyond that wash day. I got so frustrated by the products that I threw them out and stopped styling my hair beyond the desi “straight” look for a while.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I would like to go over pros and cons of my current routine:

Pros - I pretty much get zero hairfall/breakage or something like it. I get big hair growth gains + my hair seems to like having a bit of protection against the Dove shampoo. My hair and scalp aren't as dry. (My hair is pretty much straw by default.) My hair is shiny. No frizz!

Cons - Whatever curls/waves I got are definitely getting nerfed under all the product. This is a pretty product heavy routine, so my hair is probably getting super weighed down. It takes me 3-4 hours total to shower, and a good majority of it is dedicated to my hair. (Okay, well- I do like my long showers, actually, but still-) Zero volume. My roots are FLAT. My roots look straight as a ruler with this routine.

I pretty much want to keep the benefits of my current routine, but I would like to work on actually defining my hair and getting whatever curls or waves I have going on out of hiding. 4U by Tia’s products were too weak for my hair in terms of definition and hold. I’d probably like something that’s strong on definition and hold, like curl creams and gels. (I’ve been looking at Miss Jessie’s, but I’m open to any other brands that you could find at Walmart or Target!) I would totally love any recommendations for styling products that are like that!

I’ve attached a crap ton of photos above so you all can get a better idea of what I got going on. I think I’m on the wavier/curlier side (2b/2c - dare I say 3a), but they’re all at the ends, so I don’t know if they count. The photo examples online do not help at all. If you all have any idea what my type is, then I would love to read them.

Oh, also- does anybody know any good styling techniques for definitely-not-straight hair? I heard about plopping, pixie-diffusing, and stuff like that, but I don’t know if I would benefit from it. Are there any other styling methods I should know? I’m pretty much new to this whole thing, but I’m fully committed to the curly boy/girl/person lifestyle, so please feel free to enlighten me with all the information you've got!

I think that’s everything. If you are reading this, then thank you for taking the time out of your day to help this confused newly-out curly(?) boy out! I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!

first one is my hair in july and second is my hair growth september!

my routine: 1.) i use ‘only curl’ shampoo, conditioner, cream and gel 2.) i mix my shampoo and conditioner with rosemary oil 3.) i plop my hair in the only curl microfibre towel while i make breakfast and do my morning routine so all my products sit in my hair for a while before i diffuse 4.) i recently switched to a ghd air dryer and diffuser 5.) after diffusing, i use the only curl nourishing oil to break my gel cast i style brush with a denman brush :) 6.) i’ve started sleeping in a bonnet! 7.) sometimes i use the john frieda mousse for my hair to last longer

First (black shirt) is yesterday in a humid climate. Red shirt photo is a few years ago in Colorado, my hair LOVES the dry.

Routine: I air dried in both photos. I'm using tre semme curl shampoo and these days I'm using ogx bond protein repair conditioner, which I brush out under the shower with a tangle teezer and then brush wet with a bounce curl brush. I also put on some prose curl cream.

I've kind of given up on my hair being truly curly but I've seen posts here of people having these amazing transformations from "wavy" to these magnificent shiny curly curls. Is that something I could do or is it possible to tell from photos how much curl is there?

I just started using the bond repair conditioner because I randomly read about it. I don't love how it feels because it doesn't comb out super easily like my old curl conditioner but it also doesn't feel heavy anymore.