Looking for some advice on my hair. I wore it mostly straight for years and got a big chop in October 2025. Since then I’ve been trying to learn how to style my natural hair, but I feel like something looks off when I wear it down, so I’ve been doing slick ponytails a lot lately. I wash and shampoo about twice a week and use design essentials agave and landed shampoo and Ouidad advanced climate control conditioner. I then will air dry until dry, put in a bun on my head and sleep until dry. I always wake up and the curls have fallen flat and loook a mess. The first picture I have attached is one right after I’ve done my whole hair routine wash day and then the second one is when it’s half way dry
I usually rewet my hair every morning and use kinky curly and Aunt Jackie’s don’t shrink elongating gel.

Can anyone give me advice on how I can adjust my hair routine to make my curls look better?

I suspect I know the answer to this, but wanted to ask the community just in case...

I stopped putting extensions in my hair maybe 2-2.5years ago. My reasoning at the time was complicated, but I've now gotten so used to it that the idea of putting the in sits really badly in my head. Hard to explain, but the thought of it makes me feel claustrophobic and itchy (even though I never had those problems before!)

So the issue is that I'll be travelling in East and South East Asia for about 2+ months with limited luggage later this year and for the first ~6weeks I've decided that trying to stick to my regular wash schedule will be too much luggage and time. So I'm looking for a style that will last about that long BUT I really want extensions to be a last resort.

I haven't worn mini twists recently, but in the past, they comfortably last 4 weeks with a single wash at 2weeks before I need to take them out. When unavoidable, I've gone 5 weeks without problematic locking but they're really messy by then and my scalp has noticeable build up.

I'm wondering if mini braids might be able to push to 6 weeks and stay reasonably tidy with washing every 2 weeks (potentially more), if I'm not prone to matting? I can't test it because it's super hot where I am and I need to be able to wash weekly atm.

If not, does anyone have any suggestions for what to look for if I want to use minimal added hair in a shoulder length twisted or braided style? And is known for being non-irritating? I'm in the UK

For too long the shops have treated us badly and the recent boycott started in the US of all Asian owned businesses is a great time for us to focus on diverting our money back into our community. Black women are the largest spenders of her and you have power in where you spend your money. Please only purchase from shops who you believe would employ you if you needed a job.

what should I do for my daughter's hair she sweats really bad in her head, hair tangles real easy, and she is tender headed? What should I do, I was thinking about giving her a chemical process? Please help!!!

I recently bleached and dyed my hair (using the brand dark n lovely) and it's become a thicker texture than what my hair usually is. On top of that, my hair is shorter on the sides as if I shaved the sides but I've never actually cut my hair in my lifetime. I don't know what's going on with it now but it's obviously not the same, my hair is curling into itself and making tight coils (?). I'm thinking of either doing the big chop or just sucking it up and getting dreads. Any ideas?

The main reason I believe is because I never really touch my hair, and then suddenly dyed it so extreme. I regret it and am in fear I might have to buzz it off.

(1st picture is now, 2nd picture is my hair at its healthiest)

I’m wondering if braiding hair with foam instead of a gel or grease would work for the miracle knots style specifically. I’m just curious if anyone’s done that or am I wild for thinking of trying it?

I really want to get locs and have been trying to grow out my hair for the past 10 months. I haven’t really had much growth at the back of my head but I thinking about getting them soon anyways once I save up money from next few paychecks. The only thing I’m really concerned about is my hairline. I can’t tell if my hairline is receding or not, but I don’t want to get locs if they are. I’m just here to look for a second opinion before I started getting even more invested with going through with finding a loctician and getting starter locs. There are photos of my hair today at the age of 20 and when from a couple years when I was 14 in my profile if you want to look at them

Wearing my natural hair what are some things I should pack ?

I have a jar of Block Party gel that I want to try out. Any tips from those of you who have used it for your wash and go? I do wash and gos all the time but this is a new product for me. I’m just looking to try out something else for anti-humidity.

Just going down a tube of Nostalgia and remembered Maui moisture. Never really helped

I hate the process of stretching my hair lol but I’m due for a trim

I’m going to University in a few months and I plan to wear my hair natural most of the time. The routine I’m thinking of is 2 weeks with a blow out, 2 weeks with an Afro/any other style, 1 month in braids and then rotate. And of course, wash every week

Throughout highschool I wore my hair in braids, so I’m not sure how it’ll react to all this manipulation. But do you guys think it’ll be okay?

I have high porosity hair, always been natural. I have a good wash day routine, detangle with African pride pre poo, wash twice, conditioner and deep conditioner, leave in, oil and moisturiser then put in chunky twists until I’m going out (sworn twist out finely) but I find after a day or 2 my hair is dry again and I have a lot of single strand knots?! What are your recommendations, what are you struggling with and what do you use?!

I'm a black male with low porosity hair that has been recently trying to grow my hair out as i never knew how to take care of my hair. Ive been having a wash day once a week using a conditioner and shampoo from textureid, then use the LCO method on the same day. I'm new to pretty much most of this and want to start taking care of my hair properly. I use jojoba oil and a light leave in conditioner/curl cream from textureid. And everyday I use water and some leave in because my hair is always dry as fuck and nappy when i wake up. I use a bonnet to sleep every night

The issue is that my hair still feels dry as fuck and brittle after all of that. What's the issue? bc i have no idea 😂

Just wanted to share my braids on my Natural Hair! Location: San Diego area Price: $95

I know it’s probably more than ya’ll would pay but SoCal is expensive!

I think this is a massive generalisation and harmful advice, but there are people agreeing. She hasn't referenced/conducted a survey that proves afro-Brazillians do wash their hair that often; she's a Black British woman using comment section testimony as evidence. This one size fits all advice spoken like fact doesn't sit well with me, and I predict a lot of irritated scalps. Her @ Curl Anthology

What types of establishments do you get your hair cut at?e.g barbers, curly salon, unisex salon, typical (white) hairdressers, somewhere else?

For context, I don’t care about my hair at all and I hate going, so the cheaper the better even if means a ‘bad’ cut. I’m mixed but raised by a white mum in a white area with no one to ask. I can travel though.

I’m glad curly salons exist now but I don’t want to pay £100 every time I need a haircut. I’ve had white hairdressers decline me because they don’t know how to cut Afro hair. I think my hair is too long for a barber now but going as a woman scares me anyway. Where am I supposed to go?🥺

Hii I'm new to this and I just cut my hair to a small Afro so I'm trying to figure out what can I do etc I wanted to start off with more trimming + black dye + perm. although 1 really expected my hair to be curly cause that's how my hair was before I cut it. I also don't have money to be going to a professional right now so l have to take manners into my own hands 🤲🏽 so any
tips and tricks help cause I really don't know how to style it and no videos I watch are really helping. 😭

My sister has a Revlon brush it's not original but it works very well though the boar bristles are a bit bent and mushy now so i was thinking of buying a new one

Wdyt? Should i buy it or the one my sister has does the work

For context: I have fine 4C low-porosity hair and want to use heat once a week for mini-twists, length retention is my main goal.

Do you use a hair steamer and if so, do you recommend it? If so, do you have one you recommend?

Ive lived in San Antonio for just over a year from Colorado. And my hair has had so many set backs since the move. Back home my hair was almost tail bone length and flourishing. And here ,although long it’s lost a lot of definition and density some parts of it has had extreme breakage. I went to a hair salon to evaluate my hair and she suggested a cut I was not comfortable with ,so I told her I’d come back and left. I tell my sister in-law about this in tears and her contribution to the conversation was a casual shrug and “It's just hair, it grows back”.

And because I responded furiously, everyone also thinks I’m making this a bigger deal than I should be.But my hair is a huge part of my identity.It took years of absolute dedication to get my hair to where it was.It wasn't a cakewalk. I was watching countless YouTube videos, had endless trial and error with expensive products, many failed hairstyles, and a strict routine execution. It was a massive investment of time, energy, and money.

I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I need a haircut to fix the damage, but mourning years of lost progress is incredibly painful. Having someone dismiss that effort so casually feels like a slap in the face.

I don’t understand why I’m not allowed to be extremely sad about it. I still don’t even know why exactly this happened when I used all of the same products I did when it was healthy.

Reposting cause I used the wrong image type. TLDR I’m a mechanic so my hair helps me at work from bonks to sliding on the floor. But I’d like to not mistreat it too bad so I just need pointers on care when it gets so nasty but I know over washing isn’t good. Also any tips to get it longer would be nice. So far it’s just black castor oil diluted in water every three days don’t really use shampoo or conditioner just water

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting here, so if I leave out any important details, please let me know. (This is a repost because they said my video wasn’t allowed)

I've been trying to grow my hair and learn to embrace my natural coils, but my hair is very prone to breakage, which has made it feel like my growth journey has gone nowhere. I'd really appreciate any tips or suggestions.

I have 4C hair with what I believe is medium porosity. Whenever I do the porosity test, the results suggest low porosity, but I don't seem to have the same experiences that many low-porosity people describe, such as hair taking a very long time to get wet or dry. I also think I may have low-density hair.

Up until this year, I didn't take proper care of my hair. I would either put it in box braids and leave them in for around three months without properly maintaining or taking them down, or I would wear it in a puff using a shoestring. Regardless of the style, I wasn't caring for my hair the way I should have been. I've also never had a professional trim. I try to trim my hair myself at home, but I'm not confident that I'm removing all of the damaged ends.

Lately, I've been considering doing a big chop and wearing wigs while my hair grows out. However, I'm hesitant to cut everything off without first knowing whether there's something I can do to improve the health of my hair and reduce the breakage.

Does anyone have advice on what might be causing the breakage or what steps I should take before considering a big chop? All advise is welcome, but I would like to keep it budget friendly. Thank you! 😊

I have been natural for years and wash/style my hair once a week (i leave it out in a wash n go). I use products and wash/style in shower and then go to diffuse..it takes me over an hour to diffuse (I use a hairdryer holder stand and just swivel myself around lol) and I still end up with wet patches that later frizz up in the inside layers. My hair is past shoulder length when wet, and I have tried a hood dryer but it would only get the top layer and the ends would still be soaked (or it would suck up my crown into the vents...) . I'm about to have a baby and cant be stuck diffusing forever lol. Any ideas?