my roots tend to get super stringy and undefined?

lifeinmyroots

My hair is quite voluminous all around but sometimes I find that the hair framing my face tends to get weighed down and then the curl is super stretched to the point that it's straight and looks super out of place.

SpiralHam

I have a not-dissimilar head of hair - in part for me it comes down to my natural curl patterns... At my temples and around my ears the hair is naturally straighter and finer, some of that is due to my prodigious amount of grey hair there ;-) It has a natural bend to it (think 2a?) and is vastly different than the hair in the area I would have bangs (that's the curliest part of my hair, pushing 3a).

The back, and farther back on the sides (2b/2c), is much more voluminous (aside from my really straight layer at the nape of my neck).

The right cut will help; I am favoring a shorter cut right now in which the straighter pieces don't have the opportunity to weigh themselves down. Less curly, more wavy, it blends together a little better.

You can also try defining them together with water and a fine toothed comb - sounds counterintuitive but this is helpful for me. If you can get them to clump together you might be able to scrunch or twirl them gently to form a clump of curl. In desperate times I have used a plastic roller or a pin curl to set these pieces, or you could try a curling wand on a lower heat once the hair is dry.

I am usually lazy though and things get tucked behind my ears :tongue5: I am happier when they are shorter.

Good luck - if this is your natural pattern it is totally normal.