Ugh, great hair in front, not in back

curlync

Who else can relate to this? I look in the mirror and think I'm having a great hair day, because my hairs looks really good from the front! Then I look at the back and see it's flat with stringy, undefined barely-waves.

So even my really good hair days are not so good hair days from the back view.

I still can't figure out how to get a pic of the back of my hair without mastering the art of contortionism, but the profile pics show how flat and blah the back is.

CurlySia

Is that where most of the water hits your head in the shower? I had the same issue and would also get most of my frizz there. My stylist suggested I rinse my hair by bending over and letting the water run through from the nape / back of my head instead of concentrating the flow on top of my head. It helped a lot.

curlync

Most of the flow hits the top of my head - I'll try your suggestion next wash day! So since that helped you, was it just that not enough of the shampoo and conditioner were getting rinsed out, leaving residue?

Starmie

I have similar issues, though for me it's just a general lack of definition and a bit more frizz. I thought maybe it was just that I wasn't distributing the products very well but maybe CurlySia has a point, I might try that too.

SpiralHam

I have different curl patterns at the front and back of my hair - so I end up with similar issues from time to time (looks great up front but not always in the back, or even the other way round!).

When I start to have serious issues with the back it's usually time for a trimming up of the layers for me (the longer it gets, the more that clumps tend to wind around each other and weigh themselves down). It usually puts some bounce back into things. I could never wear mine as long as you do - it would be a total train wreck :tongue5:

But after all that I think your hair looks great, and as my husband always tells me, nobody can really tell. We are our own worst critics; I've learned to accept my mixed patterns with grace and find a length that's overall good for each section (for me that means shorter hair, it suits me better).

Good luck with the shower experiment - that's a good thing to try! Let us know how it goes.

curlync

SpiralHam wrote: »

I have different curl patterns at the front and back of my hair - so I end up with similar issues from time to time (looks great up front but not always in the back, or even the other way round!).

When I start to have serious issues with the back it's usually time for a trimming up of the layers for me (the longer it gets, the more that clumps tend to wind around each other and weigh themselves down). It usually puts some bounce back into things. I could never wear mine as long as you do - it would be a total train wreck :tongue5:

But after all that I think your hair looks great, and as my husband always tells me, nobody can really tell. We are our own worst critics; I've learned to accept my mixed patterns with grace and find a length that's overall good for each section (for me that means shorter hair, it suits me better).

Good luck with the shower experiment - that's a good thing to try! Let us know how it goes.

Thanks for the compliment! And your husband sounds like my boyfriend - he doesn't understand when I complain about my hair being flat, or frizzy, or less curly, because to him it's just "always curly" and he doesn't notice a difference from one day to the next - although he does occasionally point out when I have an exceptionally good hair day.

I'm sure you're right that a trim would do me good...it's been 7 months. I think I'll make an appointment now! And I do plan on trying the shower experiment either tonight or tomorrow morning as well.

curlync

SpiralHam, on an unrelated note, I just noticed you list IonEC in your sig. Is that the Repair Solutions Effective Care Treatment, or something else? My last time at Sally's, on a whim I bought the $1 packets of that and the Color Solutions Intense Mositure Conditioner that were at the cash register (my hair is not colored, but I figured if it's good enough for colored hair, that means it's good enough for me). I have yet to try either, especially since I've never done a PT or DT before, so am worried as to how my hair may respond.

SpiralHam

It's the Effective Care Treatment - this is a real-live HG for me and the $1 packet is the best way to try it out. I use it as a rinse-out and not as a PT (I don't do dedicated PT's since I found out that my hair eats protein for breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snacks). It is moiturizing as well, so the perfect balance for me

I hated the ION Reconstructor, but my hair isn't fond of keratin. I notice a package change, so I hope things haven't been reformulated at the same time. I will seriously cry if another of my favorite products undergoes a reformulation.

curlync

SpiralHam wrote: »

It's the Effective Care Treatment - this is a real-live HG for me and the $1 packet is the best way to try it out. I use it as a rinse-out and not as a PT (I don't do dedicated PT's since I found out that my hair eats protein for breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snacks). It is moiturizing as well, so the perfect balance for me

I hated the ION Reconstructor, but my hair isn't fond of keratin. I notice a package change, so I hope things haven't been reformulated at the same time. I will seriously cry if another of my favorite products undergoes a reformulation.

Hmm, the packet I have of the Effective Care Treatment lists hydrolized keratin as the 6th ingredient. Don't know if this different than what you had been using.

SpiralHam

You know, something tipped me off and I had the chance to stop in at Sally's this afternoon - and as I suspected, the repackaging came with a formulation change (go figure). The old version (in a white and red pump bottle) is formulated with hydrolyzed vegetable protein, the new bottle (silvery colored) is formulated with keratin. I guess keratin is the new hotness.

So... I stocked up on the old bottles!! :tongue5: Good for me that it's on sale right now.

Gads, now I will have to be on the hunt for something new at some point. If there's one hair product I hate shopping for, it's conditioners.

Hopefully the keratin will work for you - trying out the $1 pack is still a good idea. Everything I've tried with it makes my hair feel frizzy and weird, but my hair is a picky little primadonna.

Therese1

Good luck with the shower flow experiment. If it doesn't work, it may just be that your hair has a different curl pattern there or has a finer texture there. I have the opposite problem--the back of my hair always looks amazing, but the front and sides are blah, limp, and flat.

curlync

Therese1 wrote: »

Good luck with the shower flow experiment. If it doesn't work, it may just be that your hair has a different curl pattern there or has a finer texture there. I have the opposite problem--the back of my hair always looks amazing, but the front and sides are blah, limp, and flat.

I think my curl pattern is just a lot looser back there, like you said. I'm 2c/3a closer to the front, and I think probably more like 2b or a 2b/2c mix in back. Oh well...have to learn to live with it!

I did do the shower experiment last night, and also clarified my hair (something I haven't done in a looooong time, although I do low-poo regularly). It looks a little better today, but not much. I think in this really dry winter air we have right now, my looser parts are just going to struggle to form a decent curl or get much volume.

I'm also working on scheduling a cut, I just haven't heard back yet after emailing my stylist yesterday.

ExpectoPatronum

I have the exact same problem, and I hate it! I love my 2c/3a curls that are in the front. While I don't hate my looser waves in the back, I hate how flat it looks compared to the front. I'm going to try the shower trick to see if that'll help.

The only other thing that helped me somewhat is make sure I'm actually applying enough product there, and giving that area extra attention while diffusing. That helps define the wave I have there a little more, but it's still prone to being flat I've even tried clipping with no avail.

I guess we'll have to learn to accept it :tongue5:

bookgrdngirl

When you apply your products: do you section your hair at all?

That's what makes a difference in my routine. I have coarse hair (it ranges from mildly to very coarse) and it is very wiry at the top layers at the end of my head. I was having problems with flatness (more like: squishy weird looking curls) and just a general iffy look until I started applying in sections.

I part my hair two ways. I put one section in a bun. The other side: I part four-five different ways. After I apply my leave-in, I then apply my stylers (which just gel lately). The sections allow me to get the very coarse parts well enough. I also make to sure to flip my hair over and scrunch with extra product in my hand because I have a lot of wiry hairs on my bottom layer. It seems to work the best for me.

The shower tip is so awesome! I'm going to try that out if I can (I'm disabled so I can't do a lot of things) because I'm curious.

If you're also doing a protein treatment: be careful if you have coarse hair. Coarse hair is generally iffy with proteins. It is easy to get protein overloaded.

The best advice that I can give you is to try different proteins to see how it works for you. My hair hated certain stylers (like EcoStyler) but really enjoyed Shea Moisture's 'Curl and Shine Conditioner' (which had silk protein). I'm STILL experimenting with proteins and figuring it all out.. :angry7:

If your hair is very rough feeling, brittle, breaking, frizzy or losing definition that's usually sign of protein overload. I'm just letting you know! I didn't know the signs and experienced severe protein overload issues. I didn't notice them until it was too late and paid for it. Luckily, I notice the protein sensitivity symptoms instantly now so I don't need to worry too much.

curlync

I don't section my hair - I'll have to try that. I do apply my product in 3 different sections (left, right, back), but I do so by just leaning my head to one side or flipping it over - i don't actually part it/separate the sections. I know I have a mix of medium, kind of coarse, and very coarse hair, but I honestly don't know if one section of my head is more coarse than the others, or if it's pretty evenly mixed.

As for the protein, I'm going to hold off on trying any real protein treatments - I was curious which is why I picked up that packet, but it was only $1 so if I don't use it, it's no big loss. Maybe I'll try it in summer, I hear hair needs more protein then. For now, I'll just keep occasionally using my CJ Curl Repair and CJ Strengthening Conditioner, both of which contain small proteins. I only use them once in a while and haven't noticed any issues. I did have big problems after using several Deva products for about a month, and while I still don't know for sure what lead to the issues (stiff, frizzy, undefined hair), I suspect it was the regular use of the B'Leavin which contains wheat protein, which is unfortunate because it also gave me full, bouncy curls!