s/o Curly Hair - vent

How are you using the blow dryer? And I agree with the above poster...product buildup. It can suck the life right out of your hair.

anesthesia can have a strange effect on hair. Give it a couple of weeks and see if it doesn't revert to curl

I envy curly hair too! I have the flattest, straightest hair and I can't stand it. I have to spend so long each day curling it and lots of spray to get it to look decent. I also have to get perms all the time just to hold the curl!

I am another curly headed gal who has quit fighting the curl. I am over trying to straighten it. I seldom blow dry it unless I am in a rush. I always use a diffuser if I do. I keep products to a minimum and the products I do use fight the frizz.

Bane of my existence as well, and my routine has to always change or it will stop behaving.
Having said that, I still definitely have curls so I have no advice. sorry.

My curls are a lot easier through the summer months. In winter they're frizzy or staticky.

I just did the kerestasis smoothing treatment and bought the smoothing shampoo. I can still have my hair curly or smoothed out, either way it looks better.

Yet another curly girl weighing in here. Where were you guys when I was a frizzy-headed teen getting made fun of for my white girl 'fro, and the going style of the time was long, straight, smooth hair?? ha ha ha - My curls were the bane of my existence then! What I wouldn't have done to have a whole community of curly gals who "get it"! I did the whole routine that you described too (OJ cans, iron, chemical straightener, etc.)....

Like others here, I stopped fighting the curl years ago and got long layers, better product, & more experience in styling it. I live in an area with high humidity in the summer months, so I do not blow it dry from about April through November. During the warm months, I just put a little Frizz-Ease in it and let it go. Keeps me cool while it dries and once it finally dries (midday-ish, it's fairly long & thick), I usually have nice spiral curls. If it's super humid out and hair is getting frizzy again after it's dry I'll put a little smoothing gel or something similar in, but usually it's ok without. During the winter months, I blow it dry and often follow with a flat iron. I'm careful about product buildup and using low sulfates. I mostly use John Frieda products, but have tried lots of others (too many to count) with mixed results. (Always the promises, but they hardly ever measure up, LOL!) Have never tried Keratin, too much $$$! Plus I'm afraid I'd love it and want to get it done more often than I could afford!

ETA: Forgot to add that during the winter months when there's low humidity, my hair does flatten a little, and the curls are more loose/limp like you noticed with yours. So the lower humidity weather could also be a factor (in addition to the other things mentioned above).

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, right? LOL!

Oh how I would love to have curl, or even just a little bit of a wave.

<=== see that avatar, it's not really me. I have a straight chin length bob.


But like others have suggested give it a month or so. Anesthesia can really mess things up.

I could have written this post! 

Battled my curly hair for 30+ years, finally gave up and got the Deva cut a year ago and converted to all their products. Slowly began embracing the curls.. and then a few months ago I had surgery and my hair freaked. My hair stylist gave me a Loreal Powercell treatment and it turned it back around. She calls this product "crack for hair" and she was right! The treatment in a salon cost $25+ but you can buy the vials on Amazon for around $8 and easily apply at home.  Search "Loreal Powercell" on Amazon and you'll find the product. Do not apply a vial more than once per month. 

Hope this helps!

If you have curly hair you shouldn't be washing it every day. It's much too drying for curly hair. Shower all you want, but use a shower cap and only wash your curly hair every 3-4 days. At least that's what I've learned from experience and research www.naturallycurly.com and this book: "Curly Girl-the Handbook" which you can get on Amazon for less than $10.00. It is worth every penny-there are two editions, personally I prefer the older one myself. You will learn a ton of information about how different curly hair is from straight hair and how to take care of your particular style of curly hair.

I have wavy/curly hair and it's gotten a lot curlier as I've gone through menopause. Same thing happened to my sister when she went through puberty.

I used to use Deva products, even got a Deva cut years ago, but now I swear by these products called "Curly Hair Solutions" that you can find at this website www.frizzoff.com. Go to the website for tons of info about the products, but luckily now you can buy the products through Amazon. I adore them and they truly are different. I have tried dozens and dozens of hair products trying to find "the one"-these I could tell were different from the very first time I used them. They don't weigh my hair down, are good for my hair (sulfate free and all of that) and keep the frizz away (especially their product called, "Curl Keeper". I use that instead of a gel, and it only takes a little bit, like a quarter size in the palm of my hand and then I run that through my hair with my fingers. You should hear a squishing noise when you scrunch up your hair into curls and that's when you know you've used enough. I buy that from them plus the Silk Shampoo, Pure Silk Protein Deep Moisturizing Treatment (I use this like a conditioner) and then I use their Silk Leave in Conditioner along with the Curl Keeper as my styling product. Leave in goes in first, then the Curl Keeper.

I learned from the book that using a blow dryer or any heat appliance can ruin your hair (if you miss use them and use them every day) so I threw out my blow dryer years ago. (I work from home so that works for me). Other people use diffusers on their blow dryers and that helps protect their curls, but they only use that at the very end and only for a little while.

Anyway, that's what works for me. To help absorb some of the water when I get out of the shower I do a method called "plopping". You can read about it on the website. Basically you put your head upside down in a very soft old T-shirt with long sleeves, and basically it squishes your hair like an accordion while drying your hair in a soft T-shirt instead of a towel which reduces the frizz. It also keeps your hair out of your way while you apply your makeup. Squishing your hair like an accordion enhances the curls. There's a great video on youtube by Waterlily716 called, "Plopping Revisted (Long Sleeved T shirt Method). There are also many others that don't do it the correct way, but are basically just using the t-shirt as a turban to get the hair out of the way.

Once I've done this and gotten dressed, I take my hair down and it's still very damp but manageable enough that it isn't soaking anymore. 

Debbie in MD.

My curls definitely change with the season.

I find it best, when possible, to let my hair mostly air dry. I use a microfiber towel (at home) or paper towels or T-shirt (at the gym) immediately after the shower, add product and come back to blow dry it with a diffuser (ONLY use a diffuser) and that gives me the best results.

I agree with not washing hair everyday. I am also a member of the no shampoo ever club. Stopped using it and never looked back.

I have to disagree with the anesthesia thing. How in heck is anesthesia medication going to affect something that is dead? The hair beyond the root is dead. I can get behind a change in hair that is growing out, but not in hair that is already out.

My hair does stay wet for hours but I try to rarely ever blow dry it.  It looks so much better if I don't.  

To the OP, have you had your hair cut by a Deva trained stylist?  That was the biggest difference for me.  Once I had the right cut for my curls ad learned to use the products I was able to truly embrace my hair.  

Just wanted to say "Thanks" to Myshelly for the compliment

Debbie in MD.