"Unruly" hair, or so stylists say.

chloemarieeva · 01-04-2013, 12:52 PM

Over the years, there have been 2 things stylists seem to think is strange about my hair. I am not one to trust stylists (often have straight hair, often contradict themselves, often give me the worst haircut ever, never style it well).
1. The top layer of my 3b hair is the curliest, especially in the back at the crown. I have a fringe of silky pin straight hair at the nape of my neck. Stylists say that the under layers at the nape of the neck are usually the curliest.

2. My hair seems to take on both volume and curl the longer it gets. It is almost like the curl is cut off. Stylists are always telling me that length weighs down curls, and that curls "spring back to life" after a cut.

Anybody have similar hair to myself? Are my stylists right - is my hair an exception to the "rule"? Or are they just unaware of the diversity among curly hair types?

tricello · 01-04-2013, 03:39 PM

I am with you on the first point. The hair at the nape of my neck is a looser curl pattern and much finer than the hair on my crown. I see other posters saying just the opposite. My crown is the curliest with the sides and nape less tight.

For point two, my hair does get a looser curl pattern when it gets longer – by longer, I mean once I get past my shoulders though. Going from ear length to shoulder length probably does result in more curl and volume. Once I clear my shoulders, my hair pulls down.

Morgan_Adcock · 01-04-2013, 04:30 PM

My hair is similar in both ways, but it does seem that more people have the opposite. IMO, it doesn't matter. You have the hair you have, and a competent stylist should be able to work with whatever hair the client has. The problem is that almost no stylists in the USA have received training in curly hair. Some have learned how to work with curly hair by doing their own or family members' hair (but may be focused on straightening). Some have taken outside training since graduating.

Finding the good ones is the hard part. The salon reviews here on NaturallyCurly are one way. I've had good luck going through the MyDevaCurl site. I've also had good luck asking people with gorgeous curls if their curls are natural, and asking them who cuts their hair, if it is. I've even had luck calling a salon and asking if they have anyone who specializes in curly hair – the only correct response to that question BTW is "Oh, you need so-and-so!" definitely not, "Oh, everybody here is good with curls" (unless you've called Devachan).

Korkscrew · 01-09-2013, 02:29 AM

Yes to the point about stylists not being trained to work with curly hair.
Yes to Deva cuts being one viable option.
Yes to getting stylist references from people with great curly hair.

To reinforce Morgan's first point about addressing the specific needs of your hair, this really is important since hair styling/cutting is a far cry from any sort of science. Most stylists graduated from high school only prior to cosmetology school, and though many are perfectly smart and getting a high school diploma is nothing to sneeze at, it's not like most have chemistry degrees or have actively/clinically tested all those conflicting hair memes. Most of the theories are inherited rather than questioned. Sorry but that tends to be true. (Of course there are exceptions.)

chloemarieeva · 01-09-2013, 05:21 PM

Good point about the difference between above the shoulders and below the shoulders. My hair is to my chin and doesn't have as much curl as it did when it was to my shoulders.

chloemarieeva · 01-09-2013, 05:31 PM

Also good point about not trusting just any stylist. Honestly, I feel like beyond some fundamentals on this website, we are all experts on our own hair. Some products/methods people recommend on here I just know will not work for me. Just in case, I try them on days I won't have to leave the house and I am usually right. Need to trust my instinct more.

Korkscrew · 01-09-2013, 06:12 PM

Good point about us learning to trust our instincts more and giving ourselves credit for being our own "curly experts" when it comes to our own hair