new thread
Hello everyone, I'm completely new to this forum. I have come mainly for two reasons: 1) advice, and 2) inspiration. I tried growing my hair long several times in the past but always ended up cutting it because it is so thick plus it tends to curl. My hair is the type that wants to stick straight out rather than fall down. I want to have long hair at least down to my shoulders that will fall rather than stick out extremely badly. The first area where I really need advice is in the area of shampoos and conditioners. It seems that any product which leaves any residue at all adds too much volume to my hair and makes it bulgy. This is bad because my hair is already very thick and is in need of LESS volume. I also find any shampoo which I have tried to be too drying for my hair as it tends to frizz easily. So please tell me which products you think would work well for my hair. Products which will not dry my hair or add any extra volume. I have included a pic of my hair the way that it is right now, not even a month from my last haircut. Thanks in advance for the help.
Lucian.
You have exactly my type of hair. There are some ground rules and you have to either accept it or give up. If you don´t take this advice into consideration and you still make it to the length you want it will not look anywhere near as good as it could and you´ll be missing out.
1. Your hair will get BIG. In fact it will get HUGE. There is no way aroud it. Between 6 months and about 18 months wour hair will be a rather big afro. There is NO way around it. You can have it be a good looking afro that will draw attention to you, or a crappy looking afro that will draw even more attention to you, and that one will be 100% negative. Once you make it past the 18 month mark you will start loving it.
2. You don´t fight curly hair. Ever. You let your curls do their thing. You don´t style it. You don´t wash it more than 3 times a week, unless you´re using a sulfate free shampoo, then you can go to 4, maybe, and only if you really need it. You also don´t use hair gel, moose, wax or anything like that. You may use a leave in conditioner. And very importantly, you don´t brush curly hair, and you don´t comb it unless it´s wet, not damp, wet. You don´t want too touch it too much during the day to "fix" it. You will make it much worse and the frizziness will get out of control. You can wet it a little when you wash your hands and it will help, but don´t mess too much with it.
3. Your best bet as I said already is a sulfate free shampoo. I use Loreal Everstrong and it is fantastic. I wash 3 times a week and condition daily. I also use a clarifying shampoo every 2 weeks followed by a deep conditioner. You should do all of that from the very begining, it will help you a whole lot.
If you have any questions, please ask. I´ll be glad to help you out. Read Bill´s article "On being a long hair", that has very valuable information for hair in general, then you combine his advice and mine and you´re set.
Good luck in your journey.
Giacco covered pretty much everything, so I'll just add this:
I'm not sure if all brands do this, but Garnier Fructis sells shampoo, conditioner, and a leave-in conditioner specifically for curly hair. You might want to give them a try.
Thank you for the advice Giacco. I see by your pics that you have very curly hair, far more curly than mine. Nonetheless, our haircare will likely be about the same. Today I picked up some of that Loreal sulfate-free shampoo, and I also picked up a bottle of Tresseme Naturals silicone-free conditioner. My plan as of right now is to conditioner wash with the Tresemme conditioner every day, and to wash my hair with the sulfate-free shampoo around 3 times a week. Does that sound okay? Should I be using a different conditioner? Also, I have some jojoba oil which I will add a few drops of when my hair is dry. Thanks again for the advice. You have great hair!
Lucian
Lucien,
You need to use a leave-in conditioner or other substance that will weigh your hair down and help to take out the curl. My hair isn't curly or very wavy, but what has always worked for me over the years is simple baby oil, or mineral oil. I, too, use the sulfate free shampoo and conditioner, but still need to put the oil in to weigh my hair down. Otherwise it frizzes out like crazy and gets quite wavy. Shampoo your hair only a couple of times a week at most as it gets longer. Towel dry it and then let air dry or blow dry. When dry, apply the oil...you'll need to experiment as to how much you'll need. My hair is shoulder length and I use about 2 tablespoons, sometimes more. Rub through your hair and then, with a round brush, blow dry your hair straight using high heat. The oil will protect your hair from damage, but the heat will help to pull the curl out. Hope this works for you.