I do wet my hair daily. I put conditioner in it was what I was trying to say. :) no shampoo. If I dont wet my hair and condition daily it is a mess of frizz and just looks bad. I was washing it daily with low poo too, and then I started only using shampoo every other day, then twice a week, then I just stopped one day when I ran out and never missed it. saves me the money on the shampoo. :) but I still use conditioner daily.

I use the detangler spray ( I have waist length hair and it detangles AND prevents tangles), the Believe in and the cream pump. Even with my long hair they seem to last pretty long so I am happy with them.

I also use a diffuser hair dryer. Leaving in the One conditioner some is really great for beautiful curls, but makes dry time longer, so I only do it for special occasions.

I like that site because it talks about all the different types of curly hair vs wavy and how tight the curls are and gives tips and product guides for each type. I also have found two fabulous hair dressers from that site and I dont live in a city.

Most of my life I had my hair layered and didn't even know my hair was curly. Now I keep it at one length anywhere from my collar to my shoulders. I don't fight the curl--I mostly just try to minimize frizz. Fortunately the texture is fine so it behaves most of the time and has a lot of shine. I wash it daily but don't overuse the shampoo, then I condition with John Frieda Brilliant Brunette. It's a cream conditioner in a tube. I've tried other conditioners but keep going back to that one. After I towel-dry and comb my hair, I don't touch it with a comb again. Sometimes I use a little leave in conditioner in the front, which gets dry. The front is my problem area as it is a little straighter. I'll finger comb my hair when it dries as I can get Shirley Temple ringlets that need to be separated.

i have thick, very curly hair which has a coarser texture which turns to frizz way too easily! i used to always blow dry my hair when i was younger and had shorter hair- if i blow dry my hair when it is longer, it becomes massive! i stopped blowdrying my hair sometime around when i had my third child!

i have tried almost every product ever made and have found no miracle product! the products that i'm using now which i like the best are: miss jessie's multicultural curls, living proof nourishing styling cream, and aveda's be curly curl enhancer. i use these on different days- not together, usually with a gel too. sometimes i use a mousse instead.

i also like infusium 23 (i put into a spray bottle) for the day or 2 after i wash, if i am going to wear my hair down, i will spray it with this to dampen it slightly and it seems to revive the product that is already in the hair and keeps the frizz down for another day...

Holly-Kay, what is the name (brand) of the curl cream? I also have mine hair cut about every 4 weeks. I do use a big wide tooth comb - guess that is a detangler. I wear my bangs LONG and forgot to mention that I do pull them out a bit. But again, my hair is wavy, larger curls, not ringlets. Mayflowers my hair is layered, but that does not take my waves/curls away. Makes it more manageable. I like the brilliant brunette shine cream (finishing cream?) stuff. Dark hair looks yuk to me if it is dull and not shiny!

Brush or comb hair BEFORE shower to remove stray hair, Devacurl no poo for shampoo, wrap head with a t shirt to remove water instead of toweling dry, scrunch with an-gel (deva again) and air dry or blow with diffuser. Once dry, break the "calc" (crunchy stuff) by scrunching with hands and left with great loose curls that are still touchable. At night, pineapple hair on top of head in loose ponytail, spritz with water, repeat every 3-4 days.

however right now I am blowdrying my hair straight with a round brush because it's fast and warmer in the winter.

My hair is chest length and very curly. The only time it's straightened is when my stylist does it for me. It would take me literally an hour plus.

I use very little shampoo, and lots of good conditioner from the ears down. I comb the conditioner through with a wide-tooth comb, and only partially rinse it out. Then I gently towel dry, and squoosh in some gel. I try not to break up the curls, just run my hands down the curls and scrunch in. I pin up some pieces on my crown so the top doesn't get too flat, and then air dry. Do not comb or touch till dry, then finger comb a little. I'll use a little antifrizz serum or cream if I get frizzy. When I travel to high humidity areas, I have to put in a braid or bun. I think the best thing you can do for curls is never brush, only comb, and touch it as little as possible.

My sister does the same as Robo. She also has her hair cut by a Deva stylist.

A good haircut, by someone who has similar hair - curls.

This has been really helpful. My youngest DD (11 yrold) has long extremely thick very curly hair and has fought it for years (tight buns or braids). She is just starting to embrace it in the last few months. On another thread, someone suggested Dove Quench and she has been using that for a couple of weeks and finds it very good. We have very long cold and dry winters and her hair was getting very dry at the ends. The Quench has made it much easier to manage.

She also loves her Wet brush.

This advice is a bit tongue in cheek. If you have a choice, don't live somewhere with humid weather! I live in a terribly humid place and for 8 months out of the year my hair is a mess. Products, good haircuts, magic potions, nothing helps. When I travel somewhere less humid I am always surprised by how good my hair looks.

The plus side of living in a humid place is that my dry skin is much better.

I have curly bordering on wavy hair (not too much curl) and it looks its best in super humidity! Which is lucky since I also love somewhere humid.

Robo, maybe it is our combination of warm and humid that is the issue for me. What happens to your hair when you visit tropical locales ?

d_gw- my hair is definitely more manageable when i am in places like denver and phoenix! i would wear very short hair or let it go into dreads if i lived in a tropical locale ... maybe robo doesn't have frizz issues?

A good hair dryer has really helped me. Get one of the tourmaline, ionic ones that brag about smoothing your hair. I got one and it has really cut my frizz down. I have wavy hair bordering on curly. My hair dresser can't believe how tame my hair is using the new dryer. We will see though when spring gets here and the humidity returns.

Geesh, I spent probably twenty minutes last night replying and lost the whole darn thing. I was too tired to redo it.

Aok, I hear you on the boink! It always amazes me how I can literally feel my hair shrink when the humidity is high.

Boop, thanks for the site. I have to research my curl type, however I know I have a combo. the sides are a really pretty, loopy kind of curl but the crown and back has a tighter curl. I can't imagine not washing my hair but it sounds like it works great for you.

May, I am definitely putting the John Frieda Brilliant Brunette on my to buy list. Thank you so much for recommending it.

Busy, curly hair really can be a chore, especially when it tends towards a frizzy curl. The Infusium 23 sounds interesting. I'll put it on my research list.

Tina, the curl cream DD gave me is called One 'N" Only curl cream. I like it better than the Beachwaves. it seems that it has relaxed the crown and back curls a smidge.

Robo, thanks for the Deva recommendation. It will go on my research list. It takes me forever to blow dry and pull my hair straight. Even after blow drying I have to use a flat iron to smooth it.

JLC, I do think the key to non frizzy curls is to not fuss with them, just leave them dry and don't brush or comb.

Ellendi, thank you for sharing. A deva hairstylist sounds like a great idea.

Mdln, my stylist does have curly hair, though just slightly curly and she blow dries straight.

Daisychain, Bless your DD's heart. I hated my curly hair with a passion. My DM had no clue how to help me with dealing with it. Your DD is lucky to have you. Encourage her to embrace it or she will spend so much time in angst over her hair. I truly wish I could retrieve the years I've spent fighting it. If you are on Pinterest at all see if you can find pins of young girls with beautiful curls so she can she how gorgeous curls can be.

D_gw, that is such a true statement. Humidity is a curly girl's worst enemy.

Thank you all for sharing!

ETA: RNmom, thank you. I've used an ionic hair dryer for many years and it definitely helps.

D - it goes from wavy to curly! :) which I like

robo - No frizz? Lucky you! I don't mind curly, it's the pouffy frizz that happens in humidity that drives me crazy.

OK curly (my hair is kind of more wavy) girls, how do you pick a hair style? I have waist length hair and I am thinking of a change. It is hard to know what is appropriate to me my age, hair, face etc. Does a hair dresser really figure all that out? I am thinking of one of these:

Not so poofy on the second one (although I do like Poof) :)

Here are some I like - notice the longer bangs which personally I find easier to manage than shorter straight bangs

Bold move with a center part, I like the shape around the shoulders here

A bit of a bob

Longer wavy hair

it is funny - I keep reading that as you get older you need bangs. So I got bangs. I am getting my haircut tomorrow and my bangs are all grown out, at this point I was like the heck with making them work today at the office, I will just push them all back. I got 3 compliments on my hair, and thought myself this morning, hmm I think I like it better this way.

thing is - it is how I wore my hair for 10 years! 30-40, so it feels wrong to me. :)

longer bangs ore layers on the top are so much easier to deal with. I am not going for a big change this time, just bringing some pictures to talk to her about. when I was younger I went to manhattan a few times to big name places to get a new haircut. I never liked any of them. they always had me blowing out all the curl. just a lot of work and very flat and not me. so I dont know what to do! :)

Boop, my advice is to take off a few inches at each haircut, and add some layers. Don't cut bangs unless you're committed to straightening them out a bit every day. Cutting one inch off my hair makes it shrink up three inches, but all curl is different.

I forgot to mention one product I love in humid weather or when my hair is wild-- BedHead Control Freak. It's kind of a gel/serum combo, not crunchy, and it's miraculous for calming down frizz.

Well, I was the one suggesting Quench (dove) and glad your daughter likes it. I have had my hair cut at Miss Jessie's- which my daughter raved about... it was probably a superior cut but we had a kind of awkward customer service issue there so I would never go back. Their products do seem pretty good. I also had a DEVA cut (if you google Deva you can find hairstylists all over the US who are trained with that) and it was good as well. I dont get my hair cut or trimmed much and most recently just had a regular cut which turned out really good.

I find that I have to wet my hair every day ( I usually dunk it but no shampoo) and use conditioner (lately, Dove Quench but often cheapy VO-5 moisturizing conditioner) as a styling aid. I used to use the pricey ones but they left my hair too stiff. I have tried Argan oil and wished I liked it more.

I tell anyone who will listen to me that I really prefer straight hair, and love when a stylist blows it out for me. It's way more flattering on me but I dont have the time or patience (or ability let's be real) to do it well. So if I could get a wish it would be to have straight er hair. truth

OK, so how do you find someone to cut your curly hair? I've gone to several people over the years, and none of them have made me do back flips. Do you stop women in the grocery store and ask where they go?

Our friends own several chain salons, and she promised me that one of her experienced stylists could work wonders on my curls. I went with great anticipation. She did a couple of very expensive (to me) treatments, then trimmed it in the same style I already had. I was poorer, and quite disappointed. I really should get a good cut, but I dread spending a bunch of money just to be disappointed yet again.

Keep an eye out for someone who has hair like yours, who has a good cut and ask them where they get their hair done. Stangers will usually love the compliment and be more than happy to tell you.

Be sure to let the person with the scissors know that you do not like your current cut and want something better.

Boop, I like those top 2 pics best. Like the first one Robo shared. My hair is very much like your first pic, except cut the longer bottom layers off. Mine is about chin length but layered all over, long top and bangs (side swept). I definitely look best with bangs, but they have to be long. I know my stylist gets tired of hearing me say "just nip the bangs a bit". LOL!

Boop, out of the pics you posted my hair looks like number three except I have bangs and my do is shorter, just at chin length. If I had the beautiful brows that gal has I would wear it just like the pic.

like yours. Not all of the pics you posted have the same type of curls. Some are just wavy or a sleek smooth curl. I think you need to know which type of curl you have or which one is attainable and go from there. If your bangs are grown out I think I would hold off on cutting them. Jlc is spot on when she says that bangs are a commitment. If I didn't need bangs to cover my sparse brows I would grow them out.

I have very, very fine hair, but it's curly. I don't fall into the thick, curly hair category. My style is like the second and third pics in Boop's post above, and I'm grateful for the curl because I think I'd otherwise look style-less because of my fine hair.

I use a curl enhancer product and a diffuser. The less I do to my hair after washing, the better. (I haven't used a comb or brush since high school.)

My best advice is to have a back-up style for those days when your curls just aren't behaving. Sometimes I get so fed up that I pull the top part back in a clip... and it ends up being a really good hair day!

TwoB or not TwoB, that was the answer to the questions on the site linked above. I'm a 2B. Actually, my underneath hair coils, the mid layer from eyes down is wavy to gentle curls, and the crown is straight. It all tends towards frizz if the humidity is too high. Yes, it's as lovely as it sounds. To really make it special, even after all these years of togetherness, I'm not that good with working it. I can do the same thing and get very different results. I just don't worry too much about it. To use that overused, trendy phrase - it is what it is.

Do you stop women in the grocery store and ask where they go?

Exactly. After telling someone I love how their hair looks, I ask what products they use and where they get their hair cut. Then I buy those products and, after using them and getting different results, I remember that the woman in the grocery store might have more skill and patience for fixing and fussing with her hair to achieve her look. And when those products are gone, I repeat the cycle, chatting up a stranger in public. Like the shampoo bottle dictates: lather, rinse, repeat - "I love your hair, what products do you use?!"

My best hair days are when I leave the salon or a random day when I don't have anything special planned and hardly see anyone.

hhireno, you are my twin. Mine is 3B underneath, finer curls on top. It spends much of the summer in a ponytail and ball cap. Once that hat goes on, it stays on come heck or high water! It looks best on days I stay at home.

Just for your amusement, here is a picture of me as a tot. It has relaxed a little.

aok - did you try looking at the site above? this is the direct link to the salon look up with reviews. curly hair dresser finder

Aok,

Awww, how cute! I bet there were a lot of tears when someone tried to wash or comb it.

eta: when I was about 5, a hairdresser recommended that my Mum try VO5 on my hair. I must have fussed about it, I recall it smelling awful and feeling greasy, so it wasn't something we continued. For years, just seeing a tube of VO5 in a store would make me shudder. As an adult, I used a VO5 straightening creme to help define my curls (yeah, it's crazy but it worked for me). I don't know if they make it any more, I've since more on to 100 other brands.

Aok, what a precious little girl you were. Your hair has that adorable Shirley Temple look.

My hair is a 3A on the sides but a 3B tighter curl in the back.

It takes forever for my hair to air dry. I got out of the shower around 8:30. It is now 12:20 and the back of my head is still slightly damp.

Boo, I had not seen that salon finder. It looks like there are a bunch of choices nearby.

I don't have any memories of hair washing time. I'm not sure how they managed it. As an older child, my step-mother made me keep my hair short for convenience. This was in the era of Marsha Brady hair, so while all the other girls had long straight hair, I looked like a boy. Which is one of the reasons that I now keep my hair a bit longer. Rebellion. :)

Remember the rhyme, "there was a little girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead...". Yeah, that was me.

right now my hair is cut most like the 3rd one down that boop posted, but poofs/frizzes out more it seems- i use thinning shears underneath so that it stays less big and it has that thinner look at the bottom that hers does... bottom line, boop- you're hair will seem a lot curlier again once you cut off some inches! i would go with a longer layered style to start!

i am really wanting to get it cut shorter, but i haven't found someone i feel confident about yet...

the only curly hair salon i've been to is ouidad and it was just ok-- they always rec longer hair with minimal layers and seemed to make everyone's hair do the long spirals when we left, but the cut itself wasn't anything special. i do buy their products sometimes, but i don't like them more than so many others... same with deva products... oh well!

Well I went today. My hairdresser said she was not emotionally prepared to cut my hair short :) I said dont worry, I am not there yet! She did cut about 2-3 inches off. It still seems pretty long to me, but my husband was like what did you do???? :) it is so much curlier now. I forget how curly it is because I didn't have a curl AT ALL in my hair till I was in my 20's! poker straight hair, then it just seems to get a bit curlier and curlier over the years.

She said she thought #2 of what I posted would be good, but longer, and it would be fuller in the middle because I have more hair then that picture. but she could make it wispyish on the bottom.

we shall see! I go back in 10 weeks :)

Your husband notices 2-3 inches off your hair? I think I'd have to come in bald before mine would notice.

Remember the rhyme, "there was a little girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead...". Yeah, that was me.

We are twins! They said that about me all the time.

I encouraged my curl today, it was rainy so no point in fighting it, and was rather pleased with the result. I used It's a 10 leave in conditioner and blew it dry with a diffuser.

I have thick, somewhat coarse wavy hair. I always wear my hair back in a braid. I HAVE to take a shower in the morning and am used to washing my hair in the morning. But I do find my hair is its best after being tied back all day. The tension while it drys all day make it smooth and soft. That might work for who wash their hair at night. Wash in, maybe let it air dry part way and then braid or wrap it while you sleep.

ETA: I will French braid my DD's wet hair at night and in the morning she has loose wavy curled hair in the morning.

I haven't found any holy grail or miracle potions for my hair but I do like Abba leave in conditioner. I use it sorta like you'd use lotion on your skin after getting out of the shower. Put a little in my hand and rub it through my hair. I do like argon oil too. Probably like most people with curly hair, I wouldn't mind the curl if it wasn't for the frizz I get on the top area of my head.

AOK! You are adorable! I so wanted a curly top red head baby.

Cattyles, unfortunately (or not), I was not a red headed baby. I think that's just the tone of the old picture. I was actually quite blond as a small kid. It gradually darkened to brown, which is still is, under the gray. :)

After 40+ years of living with thick curly hair, I had enough and now do Keratin straightening treatments 3 times a year. My only regret is waiting so long to do it. It's transformed my hair from frizzy and dry to sleek and silky. I love my hair now! So easy to style and it's wash and go.

Star jeep, does the keratin make your hair perfectly straight? I like my curl but hate the frizz. I've had my hair straightened a few times and I looked terrible. Plus I like how my curls help hide my gray roots.

D_gw, I look awful with straightened hair too because it seems to take all the volume away and the top gets as flat as a pancake. Even though it is straigthened you still have to pull it straight when drying and frizz still happens with regular straightening. I haven't tried the Keratin but my stylist who has trained to do it said it isn't low maintenance. You still have to spend the time pulling it straight. If the Keratin left the curl and just added moisture and shine I would be on board for it.

Star, I'm glad the Keratin worked for you. Fighting curly hair IS NOT fun! You say it's easy to style and wash and go. What do you do to style it? Do you blow dry it with a round brush? I am so glad that you posted about this because there are so many people who don't want to embrace the curls and this sounds like a great alternative!

i tried a couple of different straightening txs- keratin a couple of times and chi a couple times- my favorite time with it was during the 3 days before you could get it wet- it was very straight, smooth, shiny and swingy- i loved the swingy feel!! but, once i washed it (with the appropriate sodium and sulfate free products) it never was as smooth and sleek. i needed to spend a lot of time with a flat iron to try to make it smooth, but i have so much hair, it took forever and never got really smooth and it was never swingy again after the 1st shampoo! :(

after a few more shampoos i would have thick, frizzy and wavy hair with gray growout much more noticeable! after a couple of tries in 3 different salons, i decided the exposure to the chemicals wasn't worth it...

it does work really well for some people---

Holly, after recommending Brilliant Brunette conditioner after using it for ten years, I just opened a new tube and they changed the formula and fragrance! It has a much stronger, perfumey smell and there's no longer cocoa seed butter in it, so it feels a little thinner. Why must they always change old products?

The Keratin treatment makes my hair stick straight - it dries like that without any styling. I was surprised because I too was expecting to have to flat iron it. Evermore so as I have very thick and very curly hair. It used to take me a couple hours to flat iron it straight. Right after the treatment, my hair is silky smooth and very very flat. After about three months, my hair starts becoming poofier and my roots (the new growth) start curling. The treatment itself takes 3/4 hours, involves noxious fumes when they flat iron the product in, and in my area costs around $500. My friend has the same treatment done, minus the flat ironing of the product and it just relaxes her curl. I tried that first and it only lasted a week before my hair returned to its previous state.

I'll add that my hair length is half way down my back and quite thick so perhaps the weight of it is a factor in it drying straight.

Here's what helped me in dealing with my curly hair: sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner made a big difference, I rarely blow-dried it as that was very drying, I used to wash at night (max twice a week) and braid it until it was dry - this reduced the poofyness. I'd sometimes do an olive oil wrap (drench hair in oil, wrap in saran wrap, leave in as long as possible). I'd use various anti-frizz products but my go-to was Moroccan oil.

I have had two bad haircuts in a row. My frizz nest is short as I am technically old, ok, just plain old and I look better with short hair. When I leave the hairdresser's, my hair is smooth and shiny because she flat ironed it. But, she doesn't realize, and I will tell her next time, that she is frying my thin curly hair. It seems so much worse in the areas where she fries/irons it. Woe is me, woe is me. If my hair looks good, I have a slightly better chance of looking good. Boy, am I down today! The good thing is I am in the desert for the winter so with a good haircut, my hair looks so much better here. Except for the two in a row.

westsider, haircut makes all the difference doesn't it? Did you see the link above for stylists specializing in curly hair?

(((Hugs))) Westsider. Isn't it amazing how if we have an off day in appearance it is so depressing? I am 62 so I guess I am also officially old but I wear my hair chin length. Because your curls will make your hair much shorter would you be willing to try letting it grow longer? The length will help tame some of the curl and you probably need a really good deep moisturizing treatment. That would help with the frizz. When I was a child my hair was such a mess of frizz that I was unmercifully teased about my hair. My hair is still as curly as ever but now that I'm changing how I care for it the frizz is under control.