Dealing With Different Curl Patterns

Most of you probably know that Syd loves big hair. Wash-n-go styles make her a happy girl because that's when her hair is the biggest. However, that is also one of the hardest styles for us to get looking good because of the variety of curl patterns on her head. I have spoken to a few people who said they chose to relax their hair because of this very thing.

When taking a picture of the big hair for this post last week, I took the picture below, too. Syd was making a weird face so I almost deleted it, but then I realized how visible her different curl patterns are. I know I have talked about this before, but this might help show what I'm talking about.

The hair on the sides of Syd's head curls up much more loosely than the rest of her hair. There's only a small amount of hair with the looser curl pattern and it just lays on top of the tighter curls. This used to drive me crazy (and sometimes it still does) because it means the hair in the back curls up much more tightly and appears shorter than the sides.

Because of this, we have learned to adjust the amount of product we use on the different sections. The sides don't require near as much product. If we didn't use less on the sides, those parts of her hair would be weighed down and appear lifeless. I also keep thinking about having the sides of her hair cut shorter than the rest to help even things out, but I haven't done that yet.

Another method you can use to deal with different curl patterns is to stick with twist outs, braid outs, and roller sets. This helps give all the hair a more uniform look. We don't use this method as often anymore, but that's mostly because of Syd's growing love for big, voluminous hair.

I know most curly-headed people don't have uniform curls all over their heads, but some heads have more varied curls than others. There is always a way to work with your hair without reaching for chemicals or heat. Play around and embrace those curls - all sizes of them!

Don't Give Up!

Sometimes you have to alter someone else's hair care and styling tips to make them work for you. It can be frustrating when a style doesn't work out after you carefully follow someone's instructions to the letter. As much as we wish it weren't so, no two heads of hair are alike. This means no two routines are going to have the same results every time. Here is the story of how I (finally) learned that lesson.

I have had quite a few people ask me how I got Syd's curls to look like they do in this picture, which is also found on the right at the top of the blog.

This was actually done by using Teri Laflesh's tightly curly method. We did the style for my niece's birthday party last summer, and it looked great, but that wasn't always the case. In fact, I almost gave up on this method completely when our first try produced some pretty disappointing results.

My first attempt at this method resulted in this in the front:

But this in the back:

Her hair looked so good from the front! But there was definitely a problem with the way the back turned out, and here's why.

If you can't tell from these pictures, Syd has several different hair types on her head. The hair on the sides is thinner, the strands are finer, and the curl is looser. As you move toward the back of her head, the hair gradually gets thicker, the strands get more coarse, and the curls are much tighter. The very back of her hair is very tightly coiled and very, very dense. It is nothing at all like the sides and front. This means I will never get the same results on the front and back of her head if I treat all of her hair the same.

A few months after the first attempt failed, Syd and I decided we were going to try again for my niece's birthday party. We could always throw her hair in a ponytail if it doesn't work, right? But this time, I put some thought into how I could keep from getting the same results again.

I used less product (normally Herbal Essences Hello Hydration for this method) on the sides of her hair, because that hair isn't as dry, course, or tightly curled as the hair in back. I gradually used more and more conditioner as I got closer to the back. I used a LOT more in the very back to help give the curls some more weight and keep them from shrinking so much more than the rest of her hair.

To my surprise, that actually worked! Here is another picture of Syd's hair from that day.

The curls look much more uniform and the whole style just looks better when I took the time to pay attention to the diversity of her curls. The sides aren't weighed down and the patch in the back hasn't experienced twice as much shrinkage as the rest.

I guess what I'm saying is this: Don't get discouraged when you don't get the same results as someone else, even though you're doing the very same steps. Pay close attention to the needs of the hair you are working with, and don't give up if something doesn't work the first time. A second or third try can lead to some pretty great results!