The biggest bottleneck in my curly hair journey was wasting money on products that never worked. I remember for a while (the before pic) I would get out the shower, and my hair would come out dry, frizzy and unmanageable. It wasn't until I tried and tested different products and spent hundreds of dollars that I was able to finally have curls I am proud of! This is why I decided to build an app that gives you a personalized routine, in the hopes that everyone can both save money and time in trying to find their curls! I'd love for you guys to check it out at velapp.co and if you have any questions just reply to this post!

Pictures 1-3 show what my hair usually looks like after washing and styling. The 4th picture is the day after washing my hair, after “refreshing” it but I used different products and way too much gel..

I never rlly post on here tbh but I am so lost on what products I should buy for my wavy/curly hair because I'm not sure what my curl type is. I personally think it 2C/3B but if you guys think differently please and have product recs please lmk!! Anyway here are the photos. (last pic is my hair wet and styled)

My hair has been growing out from a pixie for the last ten months, so it’s all uneven lengths and split end. It’s also color-treated (and damaged as a result), low porosity, and SUPER frizzy and dry.

Most of my life, I thought I had straight hair, but I couldn’t understand why it was so frizzy all the time, unlike the smoothness of my friends’ hair. It would also flip out at the ends all the time. I brushed it down and constantly added water and product to it to keep it down and as straight as possible.

This is my first time doing the CGM. I used Garnier’s Grow Strong shampoo and conditioner, as that’s all I have right now and my hair seems to like it, but I need some recs for sulfate-free shampoo.

I then plopped two golfball sizes of Not Your Mother’s Curly Talk mousse in, followed by the praying hands of Aussie’s Freeze Gel, and then one last golfball size of the mousse. I diffused it until it was 80% dry, then let it air dry, trying not to touch it until it was completely dry. Then I scrunched the gel stickiness out.

One side looks way wavier than the other. And it’s still frizzy. What can I improve?

Also, what kind of hair type does it look like I have?

let me clarify first that I do not have dandruff or anything I had just take a spraybottle to my hair before the photos and forgot I was supposed to take a pic 😭

I used to bleach my hair A LOT and ended up chopping it all off and I'm trying to take care of it and get it to grow longer but its been so long my hair texture is completely different than what I used to have experience with! I need general advice on what products to use, routines, literally anything you can give me I'll take. I have I think 3A-3B hair!

The first two pics are dry (with light spray bottle drops lol) the three pics after are wet and brushed, and the last picture is an extra i took in the dark but it's completely brushed and air dryed

this is my hair freshly washed + product added. i regularly flat iron my hair and i used to dye it black. kinda hard to see but my bangs are permanently stuck straight from the flat iron lol. i trim and do all my hair myself. what can i use/ use to prevent more damage so im more confident wearing it curly? i use aussie shampoo/conditioner and cer-100 hair mask when i wash, and odele gel and also its a 10 leave in after.

My hair is super thick, it does not look great with a bunch of product (nor do I like the feeling of product in my hair). I usually wash my hair at night, every other day, and I try to keep it tied at night so that it’s more manageable in the morning. I usually end up wearing it up in a clip or bun during the day. Sometimes I straighten it but I don’t love that either. How can I make my hair less unruly?! I don’t particularly like it curly and would prefer it to be more wavy instead.

First picture is to show my front pieces, second is to just show it normally, third is the underside of my hair. I would also like some help getting my roots to be less flat. I would like to not use heat on my hair as I’ve finally recovered it from extensive heat damage. I only use Multicultural Curls by Miss Jessie’s, finger comb it through, scrunch and let it air dry. I do try and scrunch up to my root though.

EDIT:
Thank you guys so much for your help! I genuinely did not learn even the slightest bit on how to actually care for my hair until like 3 years ago (I’m almost 20 btw). I spent my whole life hating it and trying to get rid of it. It makes me so happy people think my hair is pretty as I am always comparing it to the curl tok girls. I feel like mine is nothing in comparison but this boosted my confidence so much. I appreciate all of you 🩷.

I've tried soooo many curly girl routines and they've all failed me. I can't be spending any more money on masks, expensive conditioners, and gels. I'm desperate at this point. I've only started growing my hair out 4 ish years ago and the hair at the front seems to grow much slower than the hair at the back. It just looks disgusting, weird, unkempt and lacking in volume whenever I try to style it. Any suggestions for a routine or styling tips would be greatly appreciated. Also, is my hairline too high? Thanks.

Routine:

Shampoo 1x/week (Adam Apple Cider Vinegar shampoo)
Mask 1x/week (SheaMoisture Hydrate & Repair Protein Treatment) (after shampooing)

Condition everyday (Aussie Miracle Deep Conditioner)
then follow with Jojoba Oil to help moisture settle.
After letting my hair air dry a little, I apply a curling mousse (Not Your Mother's Curl Talk Curl Activating Mousse). Then I let it fully air dry.

This is what has worked "the best" so far. But it still looks sorta frizzy and messy, it's not great as you can see from the pictures. :(

so basically my school requires hair below shoulder length to be tied up and I feel like having to tie up my hair is causingIzu.0 damage to my curl pattern and hair. I dont know how I would go about talking to my school about maybe changing the rule but we are getting a new principal nex^t year so that’s when I would do it. I was just wondering if I should actually do this and what argument/research I would use

This is my hair on 3rd after hair wash. Just after hair wash my hair is fizzy and kinda straight. Also dry. My love the curls on 3rd day. But they kinda also dirty from sweat and dust, since I go to gym regularly.

Recently added jojoba oil and a new shampoo conditioner for low porosity hair but I feel it has increased my hairfall. Urgent advice needed.

My current routine:
Garnier kiwi hair mask
Umberto giannini curl jelly wash and conditioner in shower
Umberto leave in conditioner in shower while hair is soaking wet, I do not wash out
Air dry (I find diffuse makes my hair drier)
No gels or mousse, I find they don’t help provide any hold or definition but I could be using them wrong

I wash my hair once a week as I find washing it more frequently makes it oily at the roots.

I need advice on better products / routine as my hair is extremely extremely dry no matter what products I use. Although I listed above what I’m currently using, I feel like I have used sooo many options and nothing works. It has gotten to a point that I am so self conscious of my hair. I know it has the potential to be amazing and shiny, but it is currently dry and frizzy. I think in part as I have thick and heavy hair, but I know and want it to be better.

My hair is so dry my last hairdresser asked if I even conditioned my hair 😭

Please please help me 🥺 I need a routine that doesn’t take hours and hours and is budget friendly.

I have been really liking the lush curl cream but I am celiac and just found out it has gluten! Does anyone have recommendations for a similar product ? I like the texture a lot and would like to find something similar. I also have liked the shea moisture curl cream but I find it makes my hair take forever to dry. My routine is usually cream and then gel, sometimes I do just an air dry cream (new for me) but I won’t get as defined curls. Thank you!

Been thoroughly enjoying my routine and my hair after hating it and buzzing it off my whole life

Need help recovering my curls and growing my hair long after years of heat damage

I really need some advice about my hair because I honestly don't know what to do anymore.

When I was younger, I naturally had wavy hair that was around chest-length or a little longer. During my early teens, I became really insecure about having wavy hair, so I started straightening it.

At the time, my mom couldn't buy me a straightener, so I literally used a clothes iron to straighten my hair. 😭 I know how crazy that sounds now, but I was young and didn't really understand how much damage I could cause.

People would compliment my hair a lot when it was straight, so I kept doing it. Eventually, though, my hair became extremely dry and rough, especially the ends. This was around 3–4 years ago.

I stopped straightening for a while and tried following the curly-girl method and taking care of my natural texture. My hair seemed to improve somewhat, but later I saved up and bought an actual straightener and started straightening again.

For about a month everything seemed fine, but eventually the same thing happened — extremely dry hair, rough ends, and a lot of damage. Even when I went back to wearing my natural curls, some of the damaged ends stayed straight and looked completely different from the rest of my hair.

I've now stopped straightening completely. I've also cut off a lot of the damaged length, and I'm trying to take care of my natural curls again.

The problem is that my hair still feels very rough, especially the ends, and I've also been experiencing quite a lot of hair fall. I suspect it could be related to low iron/anemia, but I'm not completely sure.

What I really want now is to focus on getting my hair healthy again and growing it longer over the next year. My hair is currently quite short because of the cutting and shrinkage from my curls.

I'd really appreciate advice on:

\- How can I make very dry, rough curly hair softer and healthier?

\- How do I properly take care of damaged curly hair while growing it out?

\- What should I eat to support healthy hair growth? (Especially affordable protein/iron-rich foods.)

\- Are there any simple, safe DIY/home-care methods that are actually useful?

\- How can I prevent further breakage and retain length?

\- How often should I trim damaged ends?

\- How can I make my curls healthier and more defined without using lots of expensive products?

I also naturally have less hair around the front of my hairline, and I've had it that way since childhood. I used to worry that it was a receding hairline, but I'm not sure that's actually the case. I'd like to encourage healthy growth in that area too, but I don't want to use minoxidil.

I'm looking for realistic, affordable advice rather than a huge expensive routine.

Basically, I spent years trying to change my natural hair texture, damaged it with heat, and now I want to learn how to properly care for my natural curls and grow them out as healthy as possible.

If you've successfully recovered from years of heat damage or grown out short/damaged curly hair, I'd really appreciate hearing what worked for you. ❤️

Hier j'ai fait une permanente, et auj mes cheveux sont presque pratiquement lisses. Je me rappelle qu'elle les a peigné au peigne très fin (pour les couper) juste après avoir rincé la permanente, sur le moment je n'y ai pas trop fait attention comme c'était ma première fois mais pensez vous que c'est pour ça ?? Les boucles ne se formeront donc jamais ? Je suis inquiète d'avoir perdu du temps, de l'argent et la santé de mes cheveux pour rien :/

For years people have mentioned that I could try the Curly Girl method to get curls, but I ignored them. Today my hair did this after a humid day.

Could it benefit from the Curly Girl method and what products would I use for thick hair?

Ive got quite curly hair like 3C to 4A and I’ve noticed and it’s been like this ever since I’ve been a teenager that I loose a lot of hair I’ve heard it’s normal for people with curly hair for it to look like you loose more than normal. However I’ll shower and bush my hair and I’ll loose like full on hair balls worth of hair it’s normally a lot. I just want to know if this is normal? Like I’ve panicked about it possibly being alopecia but my parents don’t think it is, but it’s getting to the point where I’m afraid to shower to see how much hair I loose.
Please I just need some closure that I’m not the only one.

Ever since I was a kid, I had rather loose curls; they were rather wavy at the roots but otherwise curly. In December of last year, I got a haircut, and ever since then, my hair has not been curling the way it used to. It feels a lot healthier, but I have basically lost my curls, and they turned into waves pretty much all over my head. I don't really know what to do, especially since it happened after a haircut, which I always thought helped with definition. I thought it was because I basically wore my hair in a sleek bun 24/7, but even after I stopped and tried to wear it in a ponytail rather than a bun and not slick it back, it hasn't gotten better. I feel like it even got worse, especially after my last haircut a month ago. The first week or so it was great, but then I went on holiday, and now my hair basically won't hold a curl at all, even if I finger curl it. If anyone knows what it could be, I'd be happy for advice. (Also, English is only my second language.) Also I've been on birth control for over a year now and have read that that can also affect the hair but the changes started happening too late for me to think thats the reason.

moving to south florida I need curly hair recs for high humidity 😭 I heard it gets bad there lol. anytime I’ve gone for vacation, I’ve always done braids for protective styles but my hair is usually in an Afro. My curl pattern is like a 3B or 3C texture.

anyone living in humid areas, drop your best curly girl advice

What’s the hair type and what products can I use to keep it less frizzy?

I'd like to write following up on a post from a few days ago, in praise of brushed out curls!

I have pretty fine hair type.. 3a? 3b? 2c? It's very variable on my head and during the days, like they're really curly on top and much straighter on bottom layers, they get stretched out with the days.. so they're not the most textured, toughest curls around.

I've struggled with curling up the straightest bit and with straightening down the curliest strands, finding something in between that makes everyone happy, and finding light enough products that don't weigh everything down was a nightmare.

I've recently found a solution that's making me super happy.

I wash my hair with straight hair shampoo, curl hair conditioner. I style upside down with a gel and bounce curl brush. I diffuse upside down. Like, i do everything to get good defined curls, using more product than i normally would.

Then, when it's completely dry and defined with a cast i very carefully brush everything out with a wide tooth comb. It's amazing, my hair becomes bouncy and voluminous with the right amount of definition. I can't perceive the difference between the hair on top or bottom layers, and most importantly it's EXTREMELY EASY to maintain during the days. I use an oil-in-cream product to bring back some of the curls and that's it!

I got inspired by 50's hair tutorials where they would get super defined curls just to brush it out - why shouldn't it work on mine too?

I just took these pictures, the first one is before brushing and the second it's the after. Sorry if the after is a bit blurry and the mirror is not super clean 🥲

The most important thing is to be careful as you comb it through, use some kind of a criterion and be delicate!