3 Genius Hairstyle Ideas for the Half Curly, Half Straight Hair Phenomenon

I’ve always thought of my friend Caitlin as having the cutest just-came-back-from-the-beach tousled curls. Little did I know she had something very surprising hiding underneath her seemingly curly head of hair…

She recently revealed to me that when she wears her hair down it appears to be all wavy and curlicious, but when she lifts the curly top half of her hair up, there are much straighter strands underneath!:

On some days when she doesn’t try using products, it even appears stick straight. She said, “It looks like I just forgot to flat iron the other half of my hair–it’s awful!” It’s sort of like she’s “losing her curl” wouldn’t you say?

Well Caity and all beauties that have this half-and-half hair type situation, you are not alone! I called in for some advice from Ana, the Artistic Director at Ouidad (thecurl expert, fyi) and she told me that it’s very normal to hair like this. She told me that most people don’t know that we generally have *four *different curl pattens on one head of hair that range from tight, loose, frizz to wavy–and Caitlin’s had her issues with all four for sure!

Ana and I worked together to create three hot haircuts that work best people people who have this in-between mix of hair types:

To get the perfect __ longish haircut __ (like, below the shoulders), ask your stylist to cut the straight hair underneath anywhere from one to three inches–depending on how long you want to keep your locks. Ana told me that it’s super important for your hairstylist to see your hair when it’s dry, so he/she can figure out how short the under-hairs need to be cut in order to be the same length as your curly hair on top. The “spring reaction” between the curly and straight hairs will determine how much of the straight strands they need to chop off.

For a shorter ‘do, try an asymmetrical bob where the back is shorter than the front. The shorter back gives the straighter hairs underneath incredible movement and more freedom to curl, while keeping the front on the heavier, long side prevents a poofing situation from happening.

Lastly, if you’re feeling courageous, you could of course chop it all off into a pixie cut. Releasing the weight of the hair from all over will help the straighter strands lift up and find its spring again. Even if it doesn’t boing back into place, curl-assisting products will start to show more of a difference (with less hair) than it did before (with heavier hair).

P.S. If the half-and-half curly/straight ‘do really start to irk you even with a fab haircut, another option Ana mentioned is that you could “spot perm,” which is a perm to only partial portions of your hair.

Do you have hair that’s curly on the top and straight underneath–or vice versa? Have you had more luck than Caitlin at finding the beauty prods that will enhance your hair for even curls all over?

Haircuts ideas for any hair type!:

• 7 Super Cute Ways to Style Your Hair For the Week

19 Cute Celebrity Cuts to Consider

• 2 Girls With the Best Curls Ever