When you’re getting used to styling your curly hair, it can be frustrating to find that your roots keep falling flat or not curling at all. If you can’t get your hair to curl from the roots, read on to find out if there’s a certain step in your curly routine you need to do differently…

You’re not cleansing well enough

You’d be surprised how many people are cleansing their hair ineffectively, especially if you’ve recently switched to a sulphate-free shampoo. Your shampoo should be worked into your scalp, so just idly rubbing it on your hair is not going to allow it to clean your scalp and remove buildup. And if your hair doesn’t have a clean base to start from, it’s going to show up through lank curls that get greasy faster.

Make sure that your hair is soaking wet before you apply shampoo, then massage it into your scalp with the pads of your fingers. Shampoo twice if you feel you need to – and be sure to clarify and/or chelate occasionally too, to shift that more stubborn product and hard water buildup.

Your conditioner is too heavy

Some conditioners are richer and thicker than others, and although curls tend to be dryer than straight hair, it doesn’t necessarily mean you always need a conditioner laden with oils and butters. Particularly if you have fine hair, this can quickly become too much for your hair and start to weigh it down.

Try some lighter conditioners on the market instead that have little to no butters or heavy oils in, like…

Umberto Giannini Curl Jelly Conditioner (get 20% off with code COAST20)
JSL Essentials Lavender, Geranium & May Chang Conditioner (get 15% off with code COAST15).

You’re using too many conditioning products

Likewise, if you’re going in with a weekly deep conditioner, regular conditioner, leave-in and curl cream, you could be overconditioning your hair. As well as switching to lighter products, try cutting out some of these more conditioning products in favour of stylers that provide more hold to your roots, like gel or foam.

Remember that fluffy halo frizz can be a sign of too many conditioning ingredients rather than dry hair, and this can also stop your styler from forming a cast, so be brave and strip back your routine to the basics, and see if that helps.

Your styler isn’t a strong enough hold

Not all stylers have the same effect – you can get them in a light, medium, or hard hold. If your curls aren’t curling at the root, maybe you need a harder hold styler, or you could layer two stylers, like two gels, or a foam and gel.

Adding a product with “grit” also helps to retain volume and root hold – this is usually a product like a hairspray or texturizing spray, that will make your roots feel “rough” but will help the curls hold for longer.

Products that add “grit” to your roots:

Bounce Curl Hairspray (use code CURLSBYTHECOAST10 for 10% off)
Bouclème Super Volumising Foam (use code COAST15 for 15% off)

How (and why) to style curly hair with just hairspray

You’re not using enough styler on your roots

This is surprisingly common problem! Obviously you don’t want to glob on loads of product on your roots, but do make sure that you are raking the product high up enough.

Scrunch your roots, not just your ends, and glaze a little styler over the canopy of your head halfway through drying, too.

Speaking of drying, that water in our hair is heavy! Squeeze out the excess water with your towel once you’re done drying, and try to focus on drying your roots first. Be aware that it’s harder to get root lift if you’re air drying, due to that water weight.

You’re not root clipping

Whether you are air drying or diffusing, adding root clips when your hair is nearly dry can definitely give your roots a boost. Clip them around or across your parting, and only take them out when your hair is completely dry.

My favourite clips for root clipping can be found here.

Your hair naturally doesn’t curl at the root

Yes, the hard truth is that it might just be normal for your hair! If you have wavy-curly hair, it’s common to have a looser curl at the top than the bottom. I can get a little extra volume by keeping my hair shorter with layers, but the longer my hair gets, the more pulled down my roots get.

It’s also common to have “silky roots” – these are roots that often seem too soft and struggle to hold their curl.

If you’ve tried all of the above and you’re still struggling to get your curls to curl at the root, maybe it’s time to accept that it’s just the way your hair is. And that’s okay! Remember, we’re striving for healthy curls, not perfect curls 😉

5 things you might just have to accept about your curly hair