Curlies are always on the hunt for new products, tricks, or techniques that can help us achieve the very best for our curls, right?
For many of us with Type 2 or Type 3 hair, having flat roots is a tricky problem. Our hair can be a bit blah and lifeless near the scalp, only curling up further down the hair shaft.
The root-lift problem is so pervasive, in fact, that there are more than 3,000 threads on CurlTalk where members discuss the frustration of flat roots!
3a CurlTalker TheSimabaLook, for example, says, “My hair is flat on my head at the roots and then gets big about two inches down.”
And 3b CurlTalker jetset asks, “Does anyone have any ideas about what I could do to put more spring at the top of my head? I don’t even have anything to pick out because it’s all flat!”
Type 2 Wavies also encounter this problem. “I have this same problem, flat on top, curly on bottom,” says 2a/2b CurlTalker barefoot.
CurlTalker Develops New Method
Knowing wavies and curlies have so much angst about flat roots, we were seriously excited when we read about the new root-lift method that 3a CurlTalker BeinDeb came up with and post about in the forums.
“It’s just standard diffusing with literally a twist!” BeinDeb says of her new method.
This active CurlTalker had to learn new hair care methods when she moved to the Northeastern United States after having lived in Texas for 30 years. “I moved from an area with hard water, high dew points, and more often than not, oppressive heat, to damn near the exact opposite.”
“Needless to say, these old curls went through a BIG environmental shock!,” she adds. She describes her hair as “fine, high porosity, low density, and well-aged silver.”
Here’s how she describes her root-lift technique:
“I gather as much hair as possible into the diffuser and lift it towards my head to “accordian” the curls. After reaching my scalp, I turn it about a quarter of a turn — just enough to feel a very slight tension on the roots. I hold it for maybe 30 seconds or so (just until I feel the warmth”> then move on to another spot.”
Deb says she leans forward so that her head is upside down, and diffuses each side and then the back of her head. “I do that until most of the water weight is gone and the gel is semi-set.”
She lets her hair “rest” for 30 minutes or so. “I then do one final rotation around my head. That is, I hold the diffuser to my scalp, twist slightly, wait until I feel the warmth on my head, then hit the cool shot button on my dryer for a few seconds. That’s it!”
“It’s really not that special, just something very simple that works,” she says. “It’s working so well for me, so I thought I’d share with the hope it would help someone else.”
An Accidental Discovery
Discovering this technique was purely accidental, BeinDeb says.
She says she usually uses clips to achieve root lift. “I have a small section on the right side of my crown that loves to stay plastered against the side of my head. I was in a hurry one day and didn’t have time to clip. When I was diffusing that spot, I did the quarter twist to try to make sure the the roots were pulled up while drying,” she says. “It worked! So, the next time I washed, I did my whole head that way.”
“I do still clip, but only if I air dry,” she adds.
What Others are Saying
We just had to try it!
I really love the method. Usually to get root lift, I use a comb or my fingers to lift up my hair at the crown, and then shoot it with the dryer without the diffuser. But honestly, I don’t like getting my hands all gunked up, and removing the diffuser and using the comb just means extra steps.
Since I’m already running the dryer, it’s easy peasy to just place the diffuser against my scalp and twist! This Type 3a loves it.
CurlTalker Guide 65 (formerly Janiegirl”> says, “My hair tends to cling to my scalp when wet and loaded with product, so the little twist loosens the roots away from the scalp.
“It doesn’t allow me to eliminate using clips, but it may be because I only partially diffuse,” the Type 2b Wavy adds.
Deb, ever humble, might not approve, but we’re naming this new technique after her — it’s officially the “DebLift”!
Try it and tell us what you think! Does it give you better root lift? Share your pix!
