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Hey I’m amari and I’m needing help to get my natural curls back . I’m naturally curly but I straighten my hair way alotttt . I used to be able to just wash it and go about my day with the most beautiful bouncy curls , but now it’s not curly anymore . It’s automatically straight once my hair dries . I’ve tried different shampoos and conditioners . I’ve even tried curling creams . Not a lot of them but only a few products . Has anyone else had this happen to them and what products did you use to get your curls back ? Here’s the difference from my past curls to now .
Hi Amari! Based on your photo of your past curls it looks to me like you and I have a similar curl pattern and I have gone through the same thing! Growing up, my mom had straight hair and had no idea how to take care of mine so the damage on my curls started very early and I straightened them constantly for several years, I even used some products that were meant to relax hair over time. I also bleached my hair for several years. These days, my hair is not quite back to its former curly glory but it has improved dramatically. Here’s what worked for me: the first thing I did was get a haircut, I didn’t chop all of my hair off but I found a hairdresser (after seeing many others) that was knowledgeable about how to cut my hair so that it would sit nice when curly and I wouldn’t feel the need to straighten it all the time. Then I stopped doing chemical treatments and went for haircuts as regularly as I could stand to slowly try to cut off the most damaged areas. Then, I stopped trying to follow the curly hair routines I was seeing on social media. The fact is that curly hair routines are not one size fits all, even though I would find videos from people who’s curl pattern LOOKED like mine, often times what worked for them did not work for me. I started with just trial and error, trying different products and techniques, one at a time, and taking note of what worked and what didn’t. I learned that less is more for my hair when it comes to products. I use all of my products very sparingly because I learned that although my natural curl pattern forms beautiful ringlets, my curl pattern is not resilient (especially because of the damage and because it is very long and heavy). Using too many products at once or too much of them will weigh down my hair too much for the curls to form. I also learned that my curls are very picky when it comes to being manipulated. I tried to follow tutorials showing different techniques to finger coil, or to coil your hair around a comb, etc, but my hair always fell straight because my pattern is just not strong enough right now to be forced. My hair has to be left to make its own curls without manipulation for them to really form. I will include my current routine that is working wonderfully right now for you to try at the end of this post! I guess my main advice is first, remove as much damage as you are comfortable with. Second, get an awesome haircut. Third, find products that work well for you (this may take time!) and use them sparingly, less is more at least at the beginning ! And lastly, wash your hair well and experiment with what it responds well to, try not to manipulate your curls too much at least at first, try scrunching and diffusing to allow your curls to find their pattern again.
Here’s my routine:
1. I use Fable & Mane HoliRoots™ Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner Duo in the shower. I start by shampooing my hair two to three times (until I have lots of suds and it is very clean) I use three pumps of shampoo each time.
2. I apply three pumps of the conditioner to my hair, avoiding my scalp, and comb it through. I allow it to sit on my hair for a few minutes while I do the rest of my shower routine.
3. I rinse the conditioner thoroughly and comb it through to make sure it’s all been rinsed out. Then, when I’m ready to get out of the shower the last thing I do is flip all my hair upside down and comb it all straight down away from my scalp.
4. Then, with my hair all still upside down, I turn the water off and scrunch out as much excess water as I can, then I scrunch again with a towel.
5. Right away with my hair still wet and upside down from the shower, I scrunch in a tiny bit of leave in conditioner, heat protectant, and curl gel.
6. Then I diffuse my hair in a scrunching up and down motion (with all my hair still upside down) trying not to allow the drier to blow the pieces around the diffuser end too much as this might break up the curl clumps and make frizz and lose definition. Keep diffusing your hair this way, focusing on any strong curl clumps you see to help encourage them to form.
7. when your hair is about 50-75% dry, scrunch in some curl mousse. Be careful not to use to much and to find one you like. Using too much mousse or a bad mousse can leave your curls sticky, crunchy, and stringy.
8. Continue to diffuse your curls until they are completely dry (you can also try leaving them slightly damp, this works very well for some people but I personally had better success when I dried them all the way.
9. shake your curls at the root and scrunch again. And then scrunch in a very VERY small amount of your favourite hair oil, avoiding your scalp.
10. (my favourite tip) take a spray bottle and very lightly mist your hair with water and scrunch it in, I know it sounds funny because we just finished drying our hair, but when I do this it seems to tame any blow drier frizz, marry all the products together, and further activate the curls.
11. finish it off with
Verb Ghost Medium Hold Hairspray 7 oz/ 207 mL
(my favourite) or your favourite flexible hairspray for a little bit hold without the stiffness
I hope this routine works for you, but trial and error is the key because your curls are unique to you! Also, stay consistent, following this routine and staying away from damage as much as I can, I notice small changes all the time that have added up to dramatic improvements! Good luck with your beautiful curls!
My hair in 2019 vs 2023
