Okay, so I’ve been dealing with this weird thing lately where the sides of my hair just hang straight down. Like, totally flat and straight, while the top might have some wave or whatever. It looks kinda goofy, honestly. So, I figured I’d walk you through what I did to try and fix it.
Noticing the Problem
It started a few weeks back. I’d get out of the shower, let my hair air dry like usual, and then I’d look in the mirror. The hair right above my ears, on both sides, just wouldn’t cooperate. It was like it forgot how to have any texture. Just straight strands hanging there. Didn’t matter if my hair was longer or shorter, same issue.
First Attempts – Water and Old Products
First thing I tried was the obvious: just wetting those sides again and trying to scrunch them up. You know, hoping maybe they just dried funny. That did basically nothing. As soon as it dried again, bam, straight.
Then I dug out whatever old gel or mousse I had lying around. Slapped some on the sides, tried scrunching again. It helped a little, gave it a bit of a wet look, but it still didn’t really blend with the rest of my hair. And sometimes it just made it look greasy or crunchy. Not the look I was going for.
Trying Some Different Stuff
Alright, plan A and B didn’t work. So I thought maybe it was how I was drying it. I usually just towel dry roughly and let the air do the rest.
- Towel Drying Differently: I tried being gentler on the sides, scrunching with the towel instead of rubbing. Didn’t see much difference.
- Blow Dryer: Pulled out the blow dryer. I’m not great with it, usually just blast my hair until it’s dry. I tried using it on a lower setting, aiming the air upwards on the sides, using my fingers to try and lift the roots. This kinda worked? It gave a tiny bit of volume, but the strands themselves were still pretty straight.
- Round Brush Attempt: Saw someone mention using a round brush with a dryer. Gave that a whirl. It was awkward. Managed to get a slight bend in the hair, but it wasn’t natural looking and took way too long. Plus, I almost burnt my ear. Not doing that again often.
New Product Experiments
Figured maybe I needed something specific. Went out and grabbed a couple of things:
Sea Salt Spray: Heard this gives texture. Sprayed it on damp hair, focused on the sides, scrunched like crazy. This actually showed some promise! It gave it a bit of a rougher texture, less slippery smooth. It wasn’t a perfect match to the top, but it definitely helped break up that super straight look. It felt a bit dry though.
A Lighter Mousse: Got a mousse that claimed to be lightweight and for adding volume/texture. Applied that to the sides when damp. This also seemed better than the old stuff I had. Didn’t feel as heavy or sticky. Scrunched it in, let it air dry. It gave a bit more hold than the salt spray, and the straightness was less obvious.
What’s Working (Sort Of) Now
Okay, so after all that messing around, here’s what I’ve landed on for now. It’s not a miracle cure, but it makes it look less weird.
My Current Routine:
- Wash hair as normal.
- Towel dry gently, try not to flatten the sides too much.
- While it’s still pretty damp, I take a small amount of that lighter mousse. Rub it between my hands.
- Focus on applying it just to those straight side sections, really working it in from root to tip.
- Then I scrunch those sections upwards pretty firmly for maybe 15-20 seconds on each side.
- Let it air dry the rest of the way. Important: I try really hard not to touch it while it’s drying.
This seems to give the sides enough encouragement to not hang completely straight. They get a little bit of a wave, or at least enough texture to blend in better with the rest. Sometimes I’ll hit it with a tiny bit of sea salt spray too if it needs extra help that day.
It’s still annoying, and some days it works better than others. Maybe it’s just how my hair grows in those spots now. But yeah, that’s been my journey trying to figure out these stubborn straight sides. A bit of mousse and some scrunching is my best bet so far.
