It’s been about 11 months since my last haircut (usually have the generic white guy undercut fade with longish hair on top).
I have thick, wavy hair that grows heavy and outward, instead of long and downward. I also get these random kinks and curls throughout, and it just doesn’t look good in my opinion. Some days I think it looks cute, but most days I’m starting to feel like Ted Kacynzski.
I wash it 2-3 times a week and condition 1-2 times a week, then just towel dry it and throw a beanie on.
Do you have any advice?
So- depending on the weight of your hair (you said it's heavy) the unplanned layers you have from growing it out might be the issue. If so that might be hard to solve without a cut. Do you like layers in your hair typically? If it has random curls you might have a curl pattern you just have not learned to work with yet. Are you familiar with like the curl pattern chart (2A, 3A, 4A etc?) it covers wavy hair in the A's section- identifying your type helps you know what to do with it. I would avoid towel drying on any type of hair- try air drying if you have the time (or a diffuser? I use a diffuser and it's great). You could be over-washing it or using a shampoo with sulfates or silicones if you care about that type of thing idk. Co-washing is big. Do you use any hair product like mousse or oils or pomade or gel? Hope any of that helped at all LOL
Also I think my hair is a 2A or 2B wavy type, this is kind of how my hair would look if it didn't suck lol: https://ath2.unileverservices.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/11/type-2-hair-wave-532x355.jpg
Oh lucky!! That's a pretty manageable type tbh- it's perfectly wavy. Sometimes people have more then one type on their hair- I'm a 3B/3C. You might just have random 2B curls in a 2A pattern and that could be the reason for the random kinks/curls. It's mostly guessing tho less of a science more of a art.
Looking at the picture again, it reminds me a lot of how my hair looked when I was an emo teenager and just let it grow out for two years. Now that I'm 30 and my hairline isn't as strong as it used to be, my hair's been causing me a lot of stress and anxiety lol. But your comment made me feel really good about myself and like I can make this happen, haha. Thanks for all your input!
Of course! You can do it and anyways even disheveled curly hair has a very artist-y vibe. I wrestle with my hair like weekly honestly so I can relate. Self image is weird like that but this is the perfect time to experiment with your hair.
Hey that's a lot to work with, I might be able to look into what you suggested and find something that works.
I think the layering is an issue, because it's heavy and flat. Maybe if it was layered it wouldn't look so boring and ugly. I tried growing my hair out a couple years ago, and the first haircut I got to clean it up looked super frumpy, like someone's aunt lmao. So I decided to just cut it all off immediately afterward. I'm scared to try again because I don't want it to happen again >.<.
I'm not familiar with the curl pattern chart, I'll check that out.
I also don't use any products (because I don't know what I need, I'm used to using pomade and paste for styling short hair).
I'll give air drying a try tomorrow, though, and see how that looks!
Good luck!! Half of having wavy/curly/coily hair is just not knowing what to do with it so just have fun with it!!
Long layers can kind of weigh down the hair and give it a more tamed look. Too erratic of layers has the opposite effect of just creating a like wild halo look. If you are in a in-between stage a lot of it is just waiting for the hair to grow out honestly and looking a bit awkward. I've had aunt hair cuts too for sure. The products you should use depend both on your curl pattern and the density and porosity of your hair.
Air-drying is a great start!! It helped me a ton to cut down on frizz and let the natural pattern do it's thing. :)
Why avoid towel drying?
Causes frizz because you tousle the way it naturally settles and it also splits ringlets. There's an okay way to do it- just pat to absorb not wring or rub. Regular towels are also dry and rough- just use a t-shirt or get a hair towel made of microfiber.