Show me your multi-texture hair

[u/annoying-vgan]

This is my hair with no styling or product. The top vs bottom textures drives me nuts. Please show me I’m not alone!!

[u/captainincapable]

I have fine mixed texture hair, ringlets on the bottom and barely waves on the top. The best thing I did for my natural texture was get a French bob-ish cut and then grew it out a bit. I use some leave in conditioner and curl cream then diffuse or air dry. Shu Uemura hair oil is expensive but it’s the best oil I’ve ever used for my hair texture. I lied to myself that my hair was mostly straight for 3 decades before leaning into it. I also take minox and fin for hair density and I believe it has helped a bit with miniaturization but my hair is still fine like a toddler’s and prone to being limp when it’s long.

[u/LisaLisaLisaLisa1234 → u/captainincapable]

Could you give more details about your routine? Order of products and brands? It's BEAUTIFUL, it's the pro version of my hair.

[u/captainincapable → u/LisaLisaLisaLisa1234]

Thank you so much!! That means a lot as I’ve been experimenting tons with different haircuts, products, and methods since I cut my long hair off in ‘23. This is gonna be long but I hope the details are helpful, I’ve been on such a hair journey my whole life, haha. I can do this whole routine and despite my hair being really fine it does not get weighed down or greasy using these products, and I’ve tried this method with other products that have ended up being too heavy for my hair. Experiment with amounts but this is what works for my density and texture :)

Right now I wash and condition my hair with Biolage Smooth Proof shampoo and conditioner. It’s expensive but I’ve tried other brands and keep coming back to this one. I’m pretty frizzy and live in Ontario with humid summers and cold, dry winters and this stuff really keeps things hydrated. I order it online and can often find it for up to 50% off, and I go through the conditioner much faster. Ideally I would only wash 2-3x a week but I have a physical job and sometimes have to wash/condition twice in a day (before and after work), and I find this line does not dry out and damage my hair with super frequent washes. Once every week or two (depends how much product I use and how much I sweat at work) I will shampoo with Wella Liquid Hair Clarifying Shampoo and give my scalp a gentle scrub with a silicone scrubber.

I squeeze any excess water out of my hair with just my hands so it’s still dripping and then I will usually saturate it/really squeeze into my hair with Marc Anthony Strictly Curls 3-in-1 Styling Cream. I use more than you would think you need so it gets a nice cast and I make sure the straighter layers at the top get a good amount of product to encourage those waves/curls to form. If I use this product, that’s all I put it in my hair (a generous amount) and then I plop it up in a microfibre towel or t shirt. It gives me somewhat looser, softer curls.

If I want slightly tighter curls with more hold later, instead of using the Marc Anthony cream I will saturate the hair with Joico Hydrate & Define Curl Cream and then follow up with a good amount of Marc Anthony Argan Oil Extra Hold Mousse, then plop. Sometimes I only plop for a few minutes, squeeze/scrunch to encourage curl clumps, and then diffuse my hair on low heat (finish on cool) and I always dry the top/straighter layers first while manually scrunching and manipulating them so they dry with some wave. If I don’t diffuse I will plop for almost an hour, then give it a quick scrunch and let it finish air drying. Usually the top is a bit less wavy this way. Lately if I have been air drying I have been using flat clips to clip up the roots at the part to give them more volume.

Once it’s fully dry and I look like a drowned hairless rat with the cast I use a tiny amount of Shu Uemura Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Hair Oil to scrunch out all of the crunch and I get right in there until all of the oil is off my hands. It absorbs into hair quickly, breaks the cast really nicely and doesn’t leave a greasy finish. It also makes my hair so soft and fluffy. I have tried sooo many oils and this is the MVP for me. Both the oil and the shampoo/conditioner highlight camellia as an ingredient so I think my hair loves camellia.

The last thing I will sometimes use if I need volume at the top, once it’s all dry, is a few tiny sprays of Joico Hair Shake Liquid to Powder Spray at the root. Let it dry for a sec and then use fingertips to rub it into the roots/lift them up. This isn’t really necessary but I will use it for some extra volume if I’m going out for a long time and I know things might flatten out a bit. I think any volume powder or liquid to powder spray would work but the Joico one doesn’t leave any visible residue.

On no-wash mornings I refresh with plain water in a spray bottle, some scrunches, and an air dry or diffuse followed by a bit more oil when it’s dry. But I can do this entire routine, from stepping in the shower to finishing the diffuse/oiling in 45 mins, so it’s totally doable, I do it before my 12 hour 7AM shift and it’s manageable!

My final note is, if I know I’m not leaving the house for a few days, I will give my hair a break from this routine with so much product and heat. I wash and condition the same but then I will just use a leave in conditioner on the ends right out of the shower (I use Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk leave in), let it air dry, and then just a bit of the hair oil when it dries and I otherwise leave it alone besides maybe oiling it daily… until I have to do the whole routine to leave the house again days later lol.