Naturals with little or no curl pattern... talk to me!

[hazlenutt]

Hey Ladies!
So if you're hair is anything like mine, whether I use Miss Jessies, KKC, S Curl, or whatever, my hair likes to do its own thing. One or two curls here and there but in general, no pattern at all
What do you do? How do you style you hair? What products do you use? Share pics too!

 

[Nonie]

Comb it out and wear a nice full afro puff:

Mix it up by adding twists in the front:

 

[BlaqBella]

I didn't know if I had one for a while..prob. from Mar.08-Nov08. Then i still wondered if it was just going to be curlyish around my edges (perimeter).?. But for the past year I've been able to define my curls better and better..almost all over my head. Keep in mind though I've been heat training too. But i still have the coils that started in the back(nape) and my shrinkage is still off the chain.


ETA: I of course always use a very good heat protectant, my curls LOVE vo5 mm, and the more i experiment i can tell it'll be easy to make bigger finger coils (outs) if i decide to. But the denman brush and conair (knockoff)denman comb do wonders for my clumping and definition. Oh and protein and henna bring out my curls.

 

[Nonie]

Cornrow the front and wear a combed out puff in the back:

 

[newbeginnings2010]

Cornrow the front and wear a combed out puff in the back:

WOW, Nonie! That is GORGEOUS!!! How did you do the second style? Do you have a tutorial?

 

[hazlenutt]

Comb it out and wear a nice full afro puff:

Nice! Are you putting any heat to it or are you just tying that sucker down real tight at night!? The front of my fro does not lay down the way yours is at all!

 

[hazlenutt]

I didn't know if I had one for a while..prob. from Mar.08-Nov08. Then i still wondered if it was just going to be curlyish around my edges (perimeter).?. But for the past year I've been able to define my curls better and better..almost all over my head. Keep in mind though I've been heat training too. But i still have the coils that started in the back(nape) and my shrinkage is still off the chain.


ETA: I of course always use a very good heat protectant, my curls LOVE vo5 mm, and the more i experiment i can tell it'll be easy to make bigger finger coils (outs) if i decide to. But the denman brush and conair (knockoff)denman comb do wonders for my clumping and definition. Oh and protein and henna bring out my curls.

How often to you straighten? And I keep hearing about the denman. Do you have to get it online or is it available in Sallys or other BSS?

 

[hazlenutt]

Anyone else!? I'm sure there are more of you out there

 

[lea86111]

nonie, just curious, how long is your hair stretched? Do you ever flat iron and wear your hair down?

 

[Nonie]

WOW, Nonie! That is GORGEOUS!!! How did you do the second style? Do you have a tutorial?

The second style, fondly known as my Lisa Simpson Hairdo was really a fluke.

My hair was not stretched (S Curl, my favorite moisturizer causes my hair to shrink down on itself), and because my hair was longer than when I did the first style, the shrinkage cause there to be a lot more hair when cornrowing so that I could only seem to form fat, chunky cornrows, instead of the sleek, slim ones you might see on folks with relaxed hair. Usually I will leave the tail ends of the cornrows un-plaited and just comb them to blend in with the rest of the hair in the back. But because of shrinkage, I just couldn't get the ends of the cornrows to blend.

I spent many minutes trying to fan out each cornrow end and comb it together with those on either side, but the hair would just separate into what looked like crazy palm trees. In the end, I threw in the towel and let my hair win. I patted it into place and hoped it didn't look too crazy. To my surprise when I went to the b/r and had a gander at the do later in the day, I was smitten. A coworker had just said she liked my little puffs, but I didn't know what she was talking about coz at last check before I left home, the palm trees look was not at all cute. It wasn't until that trip to the b/r that I realized she really was right that it didn't look half as bad as I thought. I forget who christened it Lisa Simpson (maybe it was she) but I have since called it that and it is now one of my favorite inventions.

So the secret to the style is to have 4B hair shrunken like this and then cornrow and you will find the end of each cornrow will just be antisocial and keep to itself. I guess if you don't have hair that shrinks so tightly or if your hair is just not long enough yet, you can force the issue by using something that offers some hold and just use your fingers to pat/mold your hair to create the puffs.

If you find it easier to cornrow stretched hair, maybe spritzing your hair with some water-based moisturizer once you're done can cause the ends to behave like mine did.

 

[Nonie]

Comb it out and wear a nice full afro puff:

Nice! Are you putting any heat to it or are you just tying that sucker down real tight at night!? The front of my fro does not lay down the way yours is at all!

In this instance, after washing my hair, instead of using my beloved S Curl, I used what I thought was a leave-in cream but was actually a DC for Type 4 hair from My Honey Child which was to be washed out. When it started to dry hard, I applied coconut oil to my hair and then braided it. Because both products didn't have the sort of moisture S Curl has, I didn't get my usual shrinkage. My hair is very fine so if it is stretched, the strands are easy to smooth back.

What I did was get one of those large friendly elastics, put it around my neck like a necklace then raise it and have it against my hair a little behind my hairline while I stretched the length and twisted it at my nape. I then pulled the twist tighter as I reached my fingers forward and slid the elastic against my slippery hair (slippery from coconut oil). As the elastic slid back, I would pull the elastic tight and then I stretched the section that was getting longer behind me with each tightening over my puff and let it rest over the section I'd been pushing back. I continue to push back till I get it a spot where it felt comfortable yet secure.

So no heat was used. Just braids and a moisturizer that was not watery so that shrinkage would be minimal.

 

[newbeginnings2010]

Thanks, Nonie! I DO have 4b hair, and I can't wait to do that style!

 

[Nonie]

nonie, just curious, how long is your hair stretched? Do you ever flat iron and wear your hair down?

I think it's about APL...or I should say I hope. The only recent stretched photo I have is this one that I took in April 2010 but with my suck-y retention coz I don't PS or seal or apply leave-in products to my hair (<-- which would provide some sort of protection for the strands), I don't expect it to be any different now.

I straightened my hair last year in April but my strands are so fine that I never wear it hair down when straightened. It'd just be knocked by something (like a shoulder) and strike a weird pose (♪Come on, vogue...♪Let your body move to the music, hey, hey, hey♪♪...Vogue, vogue...a pose....Vogue, vogue...a pose!♪) instead of falling back to place. And if the wind blew...Behold, hair sculpture! You can see I am not exaggerating when you see how it didn't even respond to gravity when it was straightened... See?

So here's one way I wore my hair when it was straightened last year:

And this was how it looked down:

 

[ChristmasCarol]

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[Hairsofab]

I mostly wear my hair in a puff. I recently started rolling my hair up at night and poofing it out. The rollers help stretch out my hair so it isn't so compact. I'll try to post pictures later.

 

[beautyaddict1913]

I would use Miss Jessie's or KCC as a holding agent for a twist out or braid out, you will get more definition that way, but not by shingling those products through your hair like people with more naturally defined curl patterns

 

[Ms Lala]

I don't exactly fit into the no curl pattern category. My hair has a curl pattern in some parts but it refuses to clump except for a small section in the very back. I think my hair is 4a/b mixed and the shrinkage is serious so you can't tell that I have curls. I find that twisting my damp hair helps my "curls" clump. I like my texture because it can hold twists and braided styles very well. Even my twist outs can last for a week if I retwist at night.

 

[Nonie]

I don't exactly fit into the no curl pattern category. My hair has a curl pattern in some parts but it refuses to clump except for a small section in the very back. I think my hair is 4a/b mixed and the shrinkage is serious so you can't tell that I have curls. I find that twisting my damp hair helps my "curls" clump. I like my texture because it can hold twists and braided styles very well. Even my twist outs can last for a week if I retwist at night.

I don't think anyone does, unless they have some form of DNA abnormality that causes their cells to mutate from day to day so that their follicles are sprouting a hair w/o a formula. I just know that manipulated 4B hair appears to have no pattern so I can identify with one who says her hair has no pattern because there was a time I thought the same of mine.

 

[Nonie]

I mostly wear my hair in a puff. I recently started rolling my hair up at night and poofing it out. The rollers help stretch out my hair so it isn't so compact. I'll try to post pictures later.

I can't wait for your pics. I picturing a clever way to create big hair.

 

[bride91501]

I have little to no visible curl pattern anywhere on my head except the back half, so I've never really fooled with purposely trying to define it

I have noticed that as long as I keep my hair moisturized from the inside out (DCs, limit poos, leave-ins and sealants, etc.), my coils all over become more defined on their own. Also, my regimen so far mostly consists of natural products as opposed to gels and styling products, and I've noticed the most "accidental" coil definition after sealing wet hair with JBCO or castor oil.

Curl definition is a beautiful thing to behold, but as we all know, it's not the end-all-be-all of being a naturalista. I think as 4s, we need to accept the varied beauty that is our hair, and that includes its few limitations (showing length easily, proness to drying, and little to no visible curl/coil definition) AND its infinite wonders (shrinkage, numerous styling options, sought-after thickness).

Just my 2 cents

 

[Goombay_Summer]

My hair would have to repent, accept some sort of organized religion, and profess salvation before it showed a discernible curl pattern.

 

[BlaqBella]

How often to you straighten? And I keep hearing about the denman. Do you have to get it online or is it available in Sallys or other BSS?

Hi op...I sometimes straighten my hair once a week. Then sometimes I'll lay off and do it twice a month. You can get a denman at sallys usually. And i guess i should mention my hair is very fine except for the very middle back of my hair it is medium thickness, somewhat course, and i think 4b.

 

[pookaloo83]

Cornrow the front and wear a combed out puff in the back:

Gonna have to try this. Very pretty Nonie.