Ruined My Curly Hair

by Sarah

About 5 years ago I use to have really curly hair which would dry naturally however now due to straightening my hair a lot, I leave it to dry it gets curly at the roots and then just hangs straight. I have quite thick hair. Is there any way just to make it all wavy or straight when drying it naturally? I stopped using my straighteners as frequently and I have tried mousse and nothing seems to change it. Can you please help me?

*************

It is very hard to make curly hair at the roots straight. It has a tendency to revert back to curly, even when it's straightened a lot. Your curly hair pattern sounds very strong, since the root hair is so curly, but new growth hasn't been subjected to harsh straightening methods yet.

The only way you'll get good results for straightening your hair completely, is to have your hair chemically straightened. However, as new growth grows in, you'll have to maintain the process and that can get very expensive. Plus the fact that chemical straightening can have some pretty gruesome side effects, like hair loss.

Scrunching your hair will help enhance the curls you have but I'm sure you must have tried this already?

The easiest way to manage curly hair, is to conditioner wash your hair, also called co washing. Then try hair plopping (method is listed on the referring page) to encourage the curl pattern back into your hair.

If this fails, then you can be sure that you've damaged your curl pattern beyond being 'fixable'. You'll need to keep trimming your hair regularly, or find a short hairstyle you can live with. Once your hair has sufficiently grown out again and you've stopped using harsh methods to straighten your hair, your curl pattern should return.

This is one of the drawbacks to trying to attain different hair than you're born with. God gives us each our own unique hair patterns for a reason. When you accept the hair you've been given and don't try and change it as much, you'll waste a lot less time and be hair happier!

You can also find a lot of cute hairstyles by using the virtual tools on this site.