curlynirish

Hi curlies! I'm a newbie, and I'm going to a stylist recommended on the NC site to cut my 3b/a porous curly hair. Hopefully she'll know what to do with it!

I'm asking if I need to tell her to chop off a good 3-5 inches from my long hair (reaches 1/3 of the way down my back) in order to get the back to look less straight/wavy while the front and sides are so curly. The roots are also pretty flat - my hair is medium thickness and I have a fair bit of it.

1. Does it have to be shorter to get consistent curls throughout and volume at the roots?
2. Could my leave in products (GVP conditioning balm, LA looks gel) be weighing it down?

Thank you for your help! I've been reading through threads, but the organization and sheer volume make this place a bit tough to navigate (and slightly overwhelming!).

Saila

Welcome!

It might help but it's not necessary. Have you tried plopping or clipping for root curl and volume?

Washing hair upside down and scrunching upside down gives me volume and tighter curls.

kathymack

Hopefully, a stylist recommended by others on nc.com will know what to do. Here's a thread started by Struttswife that might be of help: What Should I Tell My Stylist? Appropriate layering should help to a certain extent; however, unless you have a really strong curl pattern, the weight of your hair could pull out some of the curl.

Another helpful thing to know is your hair properties. Here's a thread to help with that: Texture, Porosity, and other Hair Type Madness

Lastly, your products may not be weighing you down, but they may not be helping you much, either. I, personally, didn't find GVP conditioning balm moisturizing enough for my hair. Many of us rotate products because our hair satiates on repetitive use. I wet, rinse out and style every day seldom using any one product more then twice a week.

By learning to use products and techniques on nc.com, I went from winter wavy/summer 3a to hair like my signature picture every day.

Good luck.

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3a (Corkicelli), highlighted, fine, low porosity
modified CG, since April '07
CG since 3/11/08

SE PA

HGs: Curly Kinks Satin Roots, Curlycue ReNew and Coil Jam; homemade FSG and okra gel; soap bars; DM MiraCurls Curling Gelly; UFD Curly Magic; Shescentit LIs; Sevi conditioners; Botanical Spirits Puree, CJ Repair Me

hippiechic81

I think whether your hair will look wavier/curlier at a certain length is definitely personal. My hair was longer for a while, almost mid shoulder blade, and while it was still wavy it was also kind of scraggly. I had trouble getting volume too. Now it's a chin-length slightly inverted bob, and I get a lot more volume and definition!! Knowing the right products and techniques for my hair helps majorly as well.

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2a, fine-med. text, normal porosity (I think)

[FONT=Going back and forth between Herbal Essence Don't Fade On Me shampoo and condish and L'oreal Sulfate Free shampoo

Stylers-- Not Your Mother's Curl Cream, La Bella Sports Gel, Aussie Sprunch Spray

[/COLOR][/FONT] [I][B]My waves are finally getting stronger thanks to weekly PTs and longer hair in general. Still trying to grow it out though!

mod-CG since December '10

I have Celiac's Disease so no gluten please!

My hair is basically my hobby!!

http://balancedbeauty.blogspot.com/

Starmie

I don't think getting your hair cut so much shorter will necessarily make a difference to the consistency of your curls. Mine's probably just a little longer than hippiechic's and I still have wildly differing curls on my head - straight roots, loose curls in front/sides and tighter curls in the back. This is always my curl pattern, whatever the length.

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3b in South Australia.