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Curly Girl: The Handbook?
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Frizz is:
1) a curl trying to happen 2) dryness
Best thing I ever did for my hair was the curly girl method. Get rid of sulfates (cleansing agents that break up disulfide bonds, aka. curls) and silicones (can only be washed out with sulfates) in your cleaning products. The side bar is a great resource, and so is the Curly Girl Handbook
Get your hands on this book, ASAP. Curly Girl: The Handbook If you can get a copy with the accompanying DVD, get that one. It's worth it.
Hair types 1a through 4c. I have found that finding out my porosity has made a huge difference, and I ignore my hair numbering type. Does your hair take forever to get wet and forever to dry? You have low porosity hair. Or do you have high porosity hair, where it soaks up moisture in no time? For low porosity hair, use lighter products, avoid proteins. Opposite for high porosity hair.
I use probably 4 bottles of conditioner for every 1 bottle of shampoo, I wash with conditioner only 95% of the time. Conditon your hair like you will die if you don't. Get rid of sulfates. They are harsh detergents that break the disulfide bonds in your hair (these shape your hair curly, straight, etc.) Silicones can only be washed out with sulfates, avoid them too.
I use suave essentials sun ripened strawberry conditioner.
Do not use a regular towel to dry your hair. Use a microfiber towel or a t shirt. Do not rub your hair to dry it, scrunch from the ends to the roots.
If you properly condition your hair, you should have minimal frizz. If you do have frizz at top, take some gel, apply it evenly across your palms/fingers, and lightly run your hands down your hair.
Edit: word
It's a lot of info and can be very confusing. I highly suggest you read the Curly Girl Handbookbefore buying anything else. If you understand the foundations of why each rule exists, you'll waste a lot less time and money! The books is free if you have kindle. Also I linked to amazon but it's often available in public libraries - my library system lets you download library books for free using the app "libby", maybe yours does something similar. The book really breaks things down a lot more clearly than any website I've ever seen.
Best of luck with it. Be sure to air dry it as much as possible, too, because your hair is fragile.
There are more products available for curly haired people all of the time. There also are youtube videos, and websites, too, like the reddit subreddit r/curlyhair.
You might want to read Curly Girl, by Lorraine Massey. She is the founder of the Deva line of products.
There has been controvery with the Deva products lately and some have been reformulated back to the original after a corporate buyout.
Finding the right products for you is somewhat of trial and error - you also have to factor in your hair’s porosity, texture, curl pattern and the climate where you live. For example I can’t have any products with glycerin, they make my hair look awful because of the climate where I live.
I read this book: Curly Girl: The Handbook https://www.amazon.com/dp/076115678X and it gave me the knowledge to help zero in on products that would be best for my hair type, the rest as I said is a bit of trial and error. I recommend reading this book (you can certainly find it at your local library) before spending more money on trying products. Good luck!
There's not much you can do to actually increase the rate of hair growth. Most of the time when hair seems to stop growing, it's because it's breaking off at the ends (in tiny tiny amounts you don't see day to day, but it adds up). What she wants to do is retain the length she has and prevent breakage at the ends, her hair will continue to grow at the roots regardless.
Since she's young, I feel like all the information online (lots of it contradicting) will confuse her. Maybe you can get herthis handbook, it's the OG book on the curly girl method. It explains the science and reasons behind curly haircare.
Do you have the Curly Girl Handbook? Lorraine covers how to trim your own hair if you don't have a curl-safe stylist near you.
In my experience (I've been to five different curly/DC salons), getting a professional CG haircut is great not only for the haircut, but also for the conversation about hair care tips and techniques. I've been doing CG exclusively with DC for a few years and learn something new every time I get a haircut (about 2x/year).
Knowing what techniques work for you can be really helpful. For example, the CG method of applying conditioner (e.g. milking) can be helpful even with so-so products. Just something to consider!
I second BPWonderWoman, I'd skip the towel and just use a soft shirt for sure.
Do you have clips for root volume? This is another tool that might be fun to play with. Have fun on your trip! Sounds like you've been working really hard, I hope you enjoy yourself.
The advice I've seen on NaturallyCurly.com (where many posters follow the CG method) is to wet your hair with tap water and add a little conditioner before putting on your cap. This will keep as much chlorine from getting into your hair. When your done swimming, co-wash and condition as normal.
My wife is obsessed with this book: https://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Handbook-Michele-Bender/dp/076115678X, I tried to get her to look at /r/curlyhair before but she's not a reddit person (Edit: looks this book is listed as the ultimate guide on the /r/curlyhair wiki)
Thanks to /u/mochacho for the fixed link
Here.
You don't. Brushing curly or wavy hair when it's dry only roughs it up and causes frizz. It has to washed, conditioned, and allowed to dry in the air or under a dryer. Only when it's completely dry should it be maniuplated.
This is a good book.
https://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Handbook-Michele-Bender/dp/076115678X
Here's a good site.
highly, highly recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Handbook-Michele-Bender/dp/076115678X many people I know have been reconciled with their curls thanks to think book after decades of hating them.
I have thick curly hair that was only cut by my mom until I decided I wanted to cut it instead as I grew up, so I can't help with how to deal with going to a professional.
You can look up guides on DevaCut or Ouidad cutting, or some other techniques that are out there. This is a link that covers those two methods, with Youtube videos.
A big thing with curly hair is that it gets dry very easily, so you really have to play around with different products to find ones that help keep the hair follicles more refined and moisturized. That way your curls will be able to be healthy and curly again. It can be a big game of trial-and-error.
I gifted a book called "Curly Girl" many years ago to my mother-in-law and there's also a website called NaturallyCurly that has good tips. They both explains all sorts of good ways to keep curly hair healthier, cutting and best practices, product recommendations, etc.
Don't beat yourself up if your hair gets all weird while you're trying to improve it. It takes time and patience when trying new things out.
This will change your life. http://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Handbook-Michele-Bender/dp/076115678X
http://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Handbook-Michele-Bender/dp/076115678X I THINK this is the book, but I know I've heard of a book that many people with curly hair rave about as explaining how to care for it and style it and such and helped them out since mainstream really only teaches you how to take care of straight hair, and curly hair just isn't the same.
Cheese monkey has already invited you to r/curlyhair. That's your first step :)
Also, yes others stated you need layers and I agree. For curly girls, layers are our friends. There's a great book called "curly girl" that has helped me a lot: http://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Handbook-Lorraine-Massey/dp/076115678X
Also, to find a stylist, there's this website called naturallycurly.com that has a top tab called salon, click on that to find a salon with people who work with curly hair.
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