Hairtype? Porosity? Attempting to tame the beast

Jeanise

Basically I was thinking I have 2c/3a hair, but it seems the side I sleep on is suspiciously wavey. It curls way better if I don't sleep it on it. I'm a restless sleeper, but I honestly hate blowdrying my hair even with a diffuser even though I know it'd set better.

Wanted my hair bleached so bad I let a woman talk me into straightening it first. (Never again.) It was gummy, breaking off horribly, frizzy, and barely curly at all. That was the most damaged it'd ever been in my life despite my hair never really reacting badly to all my bleach experiments as a teen.

I've babied it somewhat back to life now, thankfully. Could use work though. Any products or suggestions? Please drop some knowledge on me.

I'm currently using my conditioner as leave in then gel, using a t****rt to dry it a good deal, then pineappleing and letting the rest dry while i sleep. No sulfates. Still cowash my scalp with cocobeatine every couple of days because I have pretty bad dandruff. (Tried lots of rememedies. THinking its poor diet.)

naturecat

Yes, I do see the 3a potential there. That one side of your hair is curlier (presumably the side you don't sleep on) and also your curl pattern is strong. 2C/3A does seem about right, though I suspect you can get more curl.
With damaged hair, other than growing it out, protein treatments and deep conditioning treatments are helpful. For products it would be helpful to know your hair properties such as hair width and porosity (drying time without product is a good measure of porosity).

Jeanise

My hair is actually down to my butt. I've cut it a number of times since it was last bleached, but I still think I may just chop a good half of it off as much as I love the length I think it could use it.
My hair actually dries pretty quickly without product, but it loses all definition and frizzes out horribly. It's been that way my whole life though.
Just did the porosity test. didn't know that was a thing. Apparently my hair is low porosity which makes sense I guess... since it's hard to wet all the way through in the shower. And it's medium width.

naturecat

If your hair dries quickly, you're high porosity. Ignore the porosity test on here; it's meaningless. If your hair absorbs product easily that's also another sign you're high porosity.
High porosity hair often has trouble maintaining moisture and you can seal (with an oil or product with oil or butter) after washing your hair and/or applying product to help maintain moisture. What gel are you using? What are the issues you'd like to address?

Jeanise

Oh. Crap haha. It does dry fairly quickly and eats product, so I guess I am high porosity then.
I just miss my curls really. They used to have pretty spirals. Especially at the end, but I don't think my hair has ever done that while it's been blonde, so maybe when I color it again it'll help...

I tried a leave in tonight Shea Moisture's Jamaican Black Castor Oil (edit this stuff seriously helps. added a new pic now) and I can definitely see in a difference in with it, but it's still just not how it used to be. I'm probably just going to have to take some length off, I think. It'd be nice to half the amount of product I need anyway haha.
I'm using totally twisted gel by herbal essences 3 hold. It's not the best for me, but definitely not the worst. Gonna try a couple different drugstore ones before I start hacking.
I really liked this one product one hair dresser used from diva curl, but it's been so long I can't remember it. (Too broke right now anyway.) I'm trying to get back to college and all my funds are pretty tied right now, so I really can't justify dropping a whole lot on hair gel.

Thanks for the help by the way.

naturecat

Wow, your hair looks so much more moisturized and defined in that pic! And the curl pattern is much more uniform. Keep doing what you're doing. Your hair is gorgeous! Yes, cutting off length can help tremendously with curl. I jumped several patterns up from chopping off my hair (my hair gets weighed down very easily). In your case if your hair is dye damaged, cutting it off and growing in virgin hair would almost definitely make your curl much stronger.