Curls always go limp/fall out

curlymom17

Hi everyone, I am new to wearing my hair curly and could use some advice. I think my hair is 2b, it is very fine, and there is not much of it. I believe it is high porosity. I have cherub curls according to the Curly Girl Handbook.

I have been fighting my curly hair my whole life, got made fun of for it as a kid, and have been blow drying and straightening it for the last 10+ years almost every day. It has also been colored, though not much in the last couple of years. About two months ago I decided to try to figure out how to wear it curly, since my young daughters all inherited my curls. I want to help them with their hair and show them that curly hair IS pretty.

All that said, no matter what I do, my curls go limp by mid-morning. There is no bounce/spring back at all. They eventually clump together at the bottom and it just looks blah. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to change or how to figure out what I'm doing wrong? I keep adjusting the products and amounts to no avail. I've watched a ton of YouTube videos and read on these forums, but I'm so confused on what to try next. Can you all steer me in the right direction?

My current routine is to wash every day (it gets so greasy on day 2) with SM weightless fruit fusion shampoo and SM weightless fruit fusion conditioner. Squeeze excess water out with my hands. Sometimes apply a tiny bit of KC Knot Today to the ends, then DC B'Leave In, then DC Ultra Defining Gel. Scrunch upside down with a mf towel, then diffuse on cool until about 90% dry. Once dry, scrunch out the crunch with a little DC set it free in my hands, then DC hair spray a couple of times during the day in a desperate attempt to keep it from falling limp.

Thank you in advance for your help!!

Therese1

Have you clarified recently? Many of us on the forum clarify with a sulfate shampoo every now and then to get rid of product build-up.

curlymom17

Hi Therese, thanks for replying! The short answer is yes. I use a SM clarifying shampoo about once a week and have used a sulfate shampoo a couple of times. Doesn't seem to make any difference. My hair is just limp with zero volume and more like beach waves than curls.

Is it possible I'm just not using enough gel? I don't really have any cast to speak of when I go to scrunch them after they are dry. I'm just afraid to use too much and make my hair stringy (which is what happens with KCCC + gel).

naturecat

Is your hair thin?

If so two things:
1) A product with lots of hold
2) A full on protein treatment, and use products with protein in them

My hair is baby fine, and it loves catnip tea. It makes my hair stronger, gives it that oomph, and makes it curl better. I top that off with Intelligent Nutrients Perfect Hold Hairspray, which has very strong hold, but doesn't weigh hair down (since it's a spray). And it's all natural to boot. I find that too much product, or even any product, weighs down my hair and pulls out curl. Everyone has to experiment with what works for them. You can try more gel and see if it helps or hurts. But if your hair is fine especially, limp hair is a sign of needing more protein.

Therese1

I know that some people on the board have a problem with DevaCurl products. In some cases, they work very well at first, but then things go downhill. I would try some other leave-ins and stylers and see if that changes anything.

macher

Therese1 wrote: »

I know that some people on the board have a problem with DevaCurl products. In some cases, they work very well at first, but then things go downhill. I would try some other leave-ins and stylers and see if that changes anything.

Deva Curl products are hyped IMO.

EditingMyCurls

I'm new around here, though I've been doing the CG method for five years. I'm a fine haired, high porosity 2B with some 2C parts at the crown, so I have to worry about limp hair, too. And let me tell you that protein makes a huge difference in how much body my hair has.

Someone linked to Pedahe's Sciency Hair Blog when I first started CG and I still use her homemade protein treatment recipe regularly. Highly recommend. The new version with the Xantham gum is way easier to use and less runny. Yes, it's kind of gross to put gelatin in your hair and it doesn't smell great, but wow--what happy hair after you DC!

A question: is your hair limp like 'too moisturized" or limp as in "too dry"? I ask because I had an epiphany this week: the DC UDG I've been using for FIVE years majorly dries out my hair. The first day I used the DC volumizing foam mousse instead of the UDG (and left everything else the same), my hair was a thousand times more curly, mainly because it wasn't crazy dry. I used to spend the better part of any wash day (I just use conditioner b/c I'm so dry) scrunching conditioner into my hair over and over. And I would get more dry with each day post-wash. With no UDG, I didn't have to do that. I ended up actually getting greasy on day 3, which has NEVER ever happened. Turns out I have to be careful with my SM JBCO leave-in post-UDG.

So might you want to look for a mousse or a gel that is less drying? This is my first post, so I hope it is helpful and not annoying. Just chiming in since we've got some things in common.

ttoosday

I have never really gotten 2b curls to hold very well. I have closer to 3 type curls in the back of my head and there's no problem with the curls holding there. My 2b sides, well they just refuse to curl very well and they can be pulled straight very easily. My 2b is a weak curl both in amount of curl and ability to hold - and I use hard hold gel. I don't really have much advice, just wanted to chime in and let ya know you're not alone. 2b isn't really a curl at all if you ask me, it's a wave.

Guide 65

Depending on where you live, it could be that the dew points are just too low for optimum curling. I live in the cold, snowy plains of Canada, and our dew points have fallen into the negative digits. I can get decent curls before I leave for work, but as soon as I step outside, they fall right down. Or my hair will immediately freeze, which causes horrible frizz. You may find your hair behaves better in the spring, when the dew point rises.

MorrisonFan91

Double-post.

MorrisonFan91

Welcome!!

Some folks find that products with Polyquaternium 7, 10, or 11, and or Guar Hydroxium Chloride, over time can cause a really squeaky/crunchy feeling residue .
I mention that because some of the DevaCurl cleansers contain both Polyquat-7 and the Guar thingy.