There is a hair gray-area between curly and straight that many of us live in. And I’m not necessarily talking about wavy hair. It is more a mix of curly, straight, and wavy hair growing out of different parts of your head. This can be something you are born with, or your hair texture and wave pattern can change due to hormones or certain illnesses and medications. It can be a challenging figuring out what to do with mix-textured hair.

We have to give a quick little curse to the universe when all of the sudden our hair type and texture changes on us, especially if it the result of a health condition or hormonal shift. It can be hard to adjust, but once you do it can definitely be a blessing. My hair went from straight to curly to both over the course of 5 years and 2 pregnancies. Now, it is straight in the back, wavy on the sides, and curly/”waggly” around my face.

Most of us in this gray-area are prone to either curly-in-the-back triangle head, or the curly-in-the-front poodle mullet like myself. My hair has been weirdly mix-textured since my last pregnancy and it has taken a while to learn to love it.

Lay down your weapons…

First thing, don’t fight your hair too hard. I think it is best to treat your multiple personality hair like it is curly. Don’t shampoo too often. Let’s talk about great haircare that is simple and no fuss- My favorite 4 tools/products for my multiple personality hair are Hairstory Studio New Wash and Balm for that not-too clean natural finish- I use New Wash about once every week to 2 weeks instead of Shampoo- It is creamy, non lather, smells great, and leaves nothing heavy behind. I love the Hairstory Balm for finishing my curls once they are dry- it adds a little soft texture and tames the wildness just enough.

Once a month, I LOVE Hui Hui Essentials Growth Oil for a scalp treatment to encourage growth, and I use my FREE YOUR HAIR Brush every day. And I especially use it with after I apply my Hui Hui Oil ( on the full moon!) and YES, my hair grows way freaking faster than before. With these rituals, ( you know I love my beauty rituals!) and a seasonal trim, my hair is in excellent shape with very minimal to absolutely no styling. Just pleasurable, holistic haircare that feels great and works well.

Make sure your hair is well moisturized, and don’t mess with it too much….Like after you have towel dried it and combed through it with your fingers, give it a good scrunching and let it dry without messing with it at all.

If you are unfamiliar with how to treat your hair like it is curly, check out HTHG’s curl category. If accepting the fact that you have curly hair is a new concept for you, check out curlynikki.com because she is a psychiatrist and a naturally curly girl. naturallycurly.com is also a well of info for curly haired peeps needing tips, tricks, and advice.

 As far as your cut and style….

What I have found is that hair with inconsistent wave/curl pattern does best with layers and some bulk removing. When these two things are combined, they result in a general blending of textures and freeing of bulky weight so that the curly parts are less poofy and the straight parts are more wavy. This makes the hair appear more consistent throughout, and it happens to be great for low maintenance styling. A great example of this hairstyle would be the one pictured on my cousin Lindsey above. She has a shlob with weight removed and it looks amazing on her.

If you have longer hair, and you have curly hair in the back, straight in the front, I would suggest long layers with the shortest layers in the front and around the face. To DIY it, try one of HTHG’s ponytail layer cuts, specifically #3.

If your hair is curly in the front and straighter in the back like mine, shorter layers in the back and longer in the front will look better. Try #1 or #2 if you are DIY-ing it;)

Consider getting yourself a Q-Redew steam wand ( I love mine) to help get more curl into the not so curly areas.

In closing, be grateful that you get the best of all worlds in a weird way. Your hair has multiple personalities. If your hair went to a party, it would be the most interesting one there.

Do you have more questions about your multiple personality hair? check out the Naturally Curly website.

By the way, If you are a DIY hair enthusiast who is curious about DIY home-hair coloring, I highly recommend using DIY hair color by Madison Reed, which Resorcinol-Free.

If you purchase a Madison Reed Radiant Color Kit, you will receive not only the colors of hair colors your choice, but also the necessary tools to apply it. The entire line is designed for the DIY hair colorer! And if you need to tone in between coloring, be sure to check out their Color Reviving Gloss to refresh and revive your hair.

Also, I recommend a shopping stop at Beauty Store Depot for all your other DIY hair cutting and coloring tools to fill your toolkit!

xo, HTHG