NATURALS PLEASE HELP!!! I have almost no curl definition!

:::SIGH::: So I cut off all the relaxed ends a few days ago, and now my hair is layered all over, but it's not too bad b/c I can still pull it back into a teeny tiny pony puff! (It's really small! ) Anyways, my hair doesn't have much curl defintiion except for in the very back, and I don't know what products to use to make the curls come out. I did an ACV rinse last night, but it was a mess of frizz afterwards. Also, my hair seems more wavy in some spots than curly, and I don't know if I'll be able to coax those sections to curl. (As an aside, that's what I HATE about Andre's system - I have wavy hair in some sections of my hair, but I'm hardly a type 2! ) Anyways, any help with products/routines would be greatly appreciated, b/c I'm very lost. I haven't been fully natural since I was 12, so this is going to be a real learning process for me!

To help with the frizz, try doing conditioner washers. And as far as curl definition, maybe try twistouts or bantu knots to "retrain" your hair.

I'm sure the other ladies will have more suggestions.

Mines come out best after I co wash (Pantene Hydrating Curls), then when I rinse my hair out i shake it like a wet dog and add a curl defining product (Elasta QP mango butter for me) while my hair is soaking wet. I dont towel dry or comb at all. I scrunch my hair while it is airdrying and when it is almost dry I spray a small amount of leave in

Twist outs are also fun If I want a loose wavy type twist out then I do large twists and vice versa for small twists. i do them on either damp or dry hair.

Congrats on cutting off the relaxed ends

I agree with Nay. It sounds like a good moisturizing conditioner is the answer. I would recommend letting it sit on your hair for a few minutes, maybe 15 minutes with a plastic cap over your hair. Then rinse with warm (not hot) water. Hope this helps!!

~pnc

Your hair is probably wavy and won't curl on it's own. You may have to manipulate your hair a little. Try a light gel mixed with a light leave in conditioner. Lightly apply it to damp hair in the sections that are wavy and then scrunch that section of hair.

Are you washing with shampoo? Try CO washing. I have the curly girl book. It's really great at controlling the frizz(the CG method):

1.Smooth CO over the outer layer of your hair
2.Smooth CO at the nape
3. Smooth CO at the sides of your hair
4. Finger comb from the undersides of your hair, not the outside.
5. Rinse and leave some in.
7. Don't touch it.
6.Pat dry or let it drip dry

See if this helps any

It may be the cut that you have that is weighing down your curls. Also curlies should have too many layers.

Thanks for the advice so far ladies. I do have the Curly Girl book, and CO washes were my staple during my transition. But now that I think about it, I did shampoo my hair when I did the ACV rinse. That might very well be part of the problem, I hadn't even thought about that. :scratchch I haven't done a CO wash since I cut the ends, so I'll try that tonight and see. But it does seem like I'm going to need a good leave in or maybe a sculpting lotion to help define the curls and combat frizz? I've heard a lot of ppl say that mango butter is good, but it seems like you have to really manipulate your hair to apply mango butter. BTW, have any of you used that Deva Curl line from the author of Curly Girl?

ayanapooh said:

:::SIGH::: So I cut off all the relaxed ends a few days ago, and now my hair is layered all over, but it's not too bad b/c I can still pull it back into a teeny tiny pony puff! (It's really small! ) Anyways, my hair doesn't have much curl defintiion except for in the very back, and I don't know what products to use to make the curls come out. I did an ACV rinse last night, but it was a mess of frizz afterwards. Also, my hair seems more wavy in some spots than curly, and I don't know if I'll be able to coax those sections to curl. (As an aside, that's what I HATE about Andre's system - I have wavy hair in some sections of my hair, but I'm hardly a type 2! ) Anyways, any help with products/routines would be greatly appreciated, b/c I'm very lost. I haven't been fully natural since I was 12, so this is going to be a real learning process for me!

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Hi ayanapooh!
Check you pre-relaxed pictures, because maybe you have different types of hair on your head. My mother does...she's a type 2a(thin wavy hair), but her crown is type 3a.

Do you wear you hair pulled back often, because you might have trained that section to be that way by pulling it back. Try deep conditioning it should come back.

ayanapooh said:

Thanks for the advice so far ladies. I do have the Curly Girl book, and CO washes were my staple during my transition. But now that I think about it, I did shampoo my hair when I did the ACV rinse. That might very well be part of the problem, I hadn't even thought about that. :scratchch I haven't done a CO wash since I cut the ends, so I'll try that tonight and see. But it does seem like I'm going to need a good leave in or maybe a sculpting lotion to help define the curls and combat frizz? I've heard a lot of ppl say that mango butter is good, but it seems like you have to really manipulate your hair to apply mango butter. BTW, have any of you used that Deva Curl line from the author of Curly Girl?

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nah all you have to do is apply the product in a squeezing/smoothing manner through out your hair. i dont rub it in or anything, that only causes more frizz

maybe your hair isn't meant to be really curly. it looks more wavy to me, and i wouldn't worry about Andre's system. btw, your natural hair looks great!

CWs gives me "mega" curl definition. I warm it a tid bit in the microwave, then apply it to "dry" hair. Let it sit at least 15 mins (although I tend to leave it on around 1 hr), massage my scalp (like I'm washing my scalp), then rinse (leaving some conditioner in). While rinsing, I'll "rake" my fingers through to detangle. If I want mega curls, I'll "shake" my head (maybe 2 mins), then air dry. If i want longer curls, I'll pull my hair back into a pony & let air dry.

Congrats on chopping Ayana . Your hair looks like it's wavy to me as well. I've read that wavy hair is harder to straighten so maybe it's harder to get curly as well (i'm not sure just guessing). I think your wavy hair looks very pretty on its own. Just think of your hair as being its unique self . It's good to have your own individual look. Congrats again on chopping -- jainygirl

Oh yeah, CONGRATS on chopping!

I haven't tried the Deva products..but I will when I have some $$.. people seem to really like the One Condition and lots like the No Poo. I hear Boots really enhances people's curls.. lots have said that it makes their hair even curlier.. I have some but my hair is so curly as it is so I can't tell.. have you tried plopping???..in the CG book.. I really think CW will help alot.. it definitely makes your hair curlier!!

Hi Ayanpooh,

Seeing your hair is one of the reasons I've decided to hold off relaxing my hair (so far it's been eight months).
I have hair very similar to yours - a flat wave with little curl definition.
Using gel or any other styling products just emphasizes the wave. No matter how hard I try I can't get a coil anywhere. Grudgingly, I've finally accepted that I'll never have ringlets.

I've been dying to see what you're going to do with your hair to get inspiration, and finally decide what I want to do.

Good luck experimenting and I hope you post the results.

- R

I would suggest getting a brush similar to this one:


I'm natural and the front of my hair is always limp so I use that brush when I shampoo to give it some life.


The first pic is dry hair.
The second pic I washed with Creme of nature.
The third pic I washed again with CON while I ran the brush through.


My S-I-L's hair looks similar to yours and her hair mostly waves. In order to get curl definition, she uses the brush.
She has a bit of relaxer left on the ends in this pic. She's 100% natural now.

I have no curl definition. There's no product on the market to give me any.

Hey Satrina,
Your hair is beautiful! Both before and after the brush!

Oh yeah try Black n' Sassy Foaming Lotion from the drug store or Jessicurl.com's Rockin Ringlets (www.jessicurl.com--you can buy small sample pack of that and her other products for $7.50 or so which is what got me hooked).

Thanks again ladies, I'll definitely be saving this thread! I'm going to try to do a few CO washes and use a good leave in along w/ the mango butter and see how that goes. I'm at my mom's house in the mountains of Washington State right now for the holidays, and there's not a BSS in sight! All they have is a Walmart, so I'm going to have to wait until I get back to Miami on the 6th before I buy new products!

@ Satrina, you and you SIL's hair is very pretty. Your SIL's hair does look a lot like mine! And I have a really nice Denman brush, so maybe I'll use that to pull through the conditioner on one of my CO washes and see what happens. Thanks so much for posting pics.

Whoever said I may have trained the front to be straight by pulling it back is probably right - my mom said the same thing - esp. b/c I wore buns for the last year of my transition. I'm going to have to do something to coax it back b/c right now tje front of my hair is so straight it almost looks like its been relaxed. It may also still be scab hair, so I'm optimistic.

Rachel said:

Seeing your hair is one of the reasons I've decided to hold off relaxing my hair (so far it's been eight months).

I've been dying to see what you're going to do with your hair to get inspiration, and finally decide what I want to do.

Good luck experimenting and I hope you post the results.

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@ Rachel,

Thanks so much for the compliment! The way I'm always fighting w/ my hair, it's hard to believe I'd be anyones inspiration! I will post the results of my CO washes when I get back to Miami. And as far as holding out on the relaxer, I say go for it! You can always relax again if change your mind, so it's worth it to wait a little longer and see what you want to do. Eight months is a long time, so congrats on that! Feel free to PM me anytime w/ questions.

Here's another site I saw elsewhere. Anyone ever tried it? Products are VERY reasonable.

http://www.kinky-curly.com/id1.html

Congratulations on the chop!

I only have one advice: don't touch your hair after putting in hair products on sopping wet hair. Just let it air dry on its own.

How short is your hair now? When my hair was 1-2 inches I had no curl, only straight hair sticking out like a cactus! I had to wait for more growth for the curls to start forming.

Flower hair,

My hair is about 6.5 inches all over in layers.

Anyways, I'm going to try a CO wash today and then put in a leave in and let my hair air dry and see what happens.

Hey ayanna

For ultimate curl definition this works for me:

1. Conditioner wash
2. Detangle with fingers
3. Apply product - I like products that kind of "mold" my curls/waves into place like Salon Selectives Molding Putty or Loosely Defined. I really don't care for gel when doing wash n go's. I apply in 2 layers - a quarters sized amount to each side and the back of the bottom layer - the same amount for the top layer.
4. Shake my hair
5. Squeeze out excess water
6. Airdry. However when I'm pressed for time sometimes I'll sit under a hooded dryer for 15 min or so.
7. If I want looser curls I'll either put my hair in a low ponytail for a little - or when in a rush I'll diffuse a little - both techniques stretch out the hair.

Sounds like alot but it really isn't! I hope you find a routine that works for you

Did you get any curls using some of these methods Ayana?

Immediately following deep conditioning is when my curls are best defined. I use the Organics Hair Mayo, add olive oil and honey, rinse in cool water and voila!