How can I encourage the 10th of my hair that won curl to do so?
I use Redken’s curl creme for my hair as well as Matrix Mousse for curly hair (green bottle). Both work well — I use the mouse for a “stiffer” curl, and the creme for a looser one. But I really think a good hair cut matters. My current haircut sucks. I got a free coupon to a different salon, so I went there. Now, like you, my top layer is flat/frizzy, and only the bottom layer curls well. I usually end up using a curling iron. After it grows out a bit, I’ll return to my regular stylist. Whenever she cut my hair, she put in the right geometry of layers so that the top layer would a curl a bit matching the bottom. Ask around for a stylist who’s good with curls.
I have wavy hair, and I’ve been using scrunching gel to make it more uniformly curly. I don’t know if you could just use normal gel and make the “scrunching” motion on just the top layers, or if there’s something special in particular to scrunching gel. The trick with coaxing wavy hair to curl is that you must not comb/brush it at all after you wash it. I wash it, scruch it up when it’s damp, then leave it looking messy until it dries or blow dry and style. Even after it dries I can’t touch it too much or the curls will flatten. A little styling is OK but full-on finger-combing will ruin it.
You might have my hair. I have perfect little ringlet curls in the under layer of my hair, but the top layer is a frizzy wave at best. It would help to know if your top layer has, well…layers. It’s taken me a long time and more than a few stylists to find the right layered cut for my hair. I have a lot various length layers cut into the top layer to help it wave and if I’m lucky curl. It’s also helpful to know how often you shampoo. I often find my hair waves or tries to curl better if I only shampoo every other day.
I have your hair, too. The best thing I ever did was go to a stylist who really knew her stuff, and got a rockin haircut. She gave me products (I use bumble&bubmle stuff), but with the haircut, I rarely need it. I rarely blow dry it — if I want it curly, I put in a dab of the stuff, flip my head over, crunch, AND DO NOT TOUCH. If I need to dry it, I use a diffuser. If I want it straight, I either wash it at night, loosely french braid it and sleep on it, or I put a bit of the straight stuff and do a fast blow dry. Once again DO NO TOUCH. The other thing that helps: don’t wash it every day. Without fail, my hair looks better on day two or three. (Can’t go more than that without my head itching).
