Curly Haired Catastrophes?

[Miss RM]

Hmmm. I'm using the biggest pink foam curlers I could find ... but that was at the dollar store, so it's entirely possible that better ones could exist I never really gave much thought to the fact that I might be rolling them too tightly! I'm pretty new to this whole roller thing! I'm going to try again tonight, and this time, I'll roll them as loosely as I can, just to see what happens. Thanks!

 

[Medvssa]

My hair is very curly, and coarse. I think coarseness/fineness is a very important factor as the hair behaves very differently even with the same curl pattern.

So I can only speak for very curly, coarse hair I am very prone to be a frizzball. Look at what a brush does to me! Yep, 80's was the intention.

The most important thing is: don't touch it while it dries. Toweling should be avoided in most cases too: let it dry dripping for best curls. A leave in or oil (like coconut oil) or butter (like shea butter), experiment with these, may be necessary. Do not comb it or brush it (the brush can be ditched altogether) when it is dry, comb it out in the shower while the conditioner is still on and that's it, maybe fingercomb a little when you get out of the shower. Don't touch it much.

Any heat (blow dry warm/hot, irons, etc) will damage it, and chemical dye will damage it, bleach will burn it off (that's how it works). So if you want your hair to grow longer than bra strap lenght or so, all these should be completely avoided. Otherwise, have fun! This is true for all types of hair

Curly hair tends to be more porous: it loses moisture faster. Wash your hair with shampoo only when necessary (most people overdo it), use a nourishing conditioner, give it a deep treatment now and then. Try conditioner only washing, it may help. Vinegar rinses have helped me a lot. A wealth of information for everyone, not only for people that want to grow (very) long hair is to be found in The Long Hair Community. I have learnt almost everything I know about hair, even about my own, there.

For more perfect waves in a vintage style, big velcro curlers have worked best for me (my hair is heavy and falls out of regular curlers). Velcro curlers can tangle and break fine hair though!
My hair holds the shape it dried on, but some people may need some sort of setting lotion. The important thing for me, to avoid frizz, is to put may hair on the curlers while it is still quite wet, otherwise the frizz is already formed when combing to put on curlers. Also very important, that the hair is completely dry before taking them out! otherwise there will be frizz. As I do not use heat because I want my hair to grow long, this takes many hours, unfortunately.
The combing out of the ringlets works better with fingers only. If I did it correclty I can also comb it and even brush it with no frizz, but it tends to flatten the waves.

Several day old waves from curlers, brushed out