Don't give up! Fine, curly hair is probably the hardest kind of curly hair because most curly hair tips and techniques don't work for us. Your first attempt looks much better than what most of us manage!

Experimenting is the name of the game. In my case, washing my hair at night every other day with a thickening shampoo works best. In the morning, I hold my head under the tap until my hair is completely wet, then blot it gently just enough to get rid of the drips. I apply a dollop of thickening mousse (Oribe makes a great one!), or pea-sized amount of thickening gel, and work it into the roots. To combat frizziness, I also use a bit of anti-humidity smoother on the ends. I then blow dry on a low speed for about a minute, scrunching, until my hair is damp-wet to give some volume to to the curls. THEN I move the curls into place and let my hair air-dry. Finally, I fluff out the curls with my fingers, or a pick, and are ready to go.

My method "violates" many of the rules given for curly hair, but it works for MY kind of fine, curly hair!

I swear, I can't see much difference at all! You look fab in all three pics!

That said, I feel your pain. I am about the get my hair chemically straightened because I just. can't. deal.

Oh no, don't cancel the appointment! It is very tricky to replicate what a stylist has done initially--after all they're working on your hair while standing next to you -- you're styling it from a much more awkward angle. The difference in your case really is negligible--just a little tweaking here and there and I think you'll be happy. I too go to a high end salon and wonder at times if my hair reflects that--but it's generally on days when I don't spend the time on it that I feel that way. It really does take a lot of practice and small things (amount of product/time spent towel drying--all mentioned previously) can make a huge difference to the final effect. You really just need to practice.

Oh, I'm a hair idiot. I completely sympathise. I think you should try a little teasing at the top. The only thing missing is the height at the top of the crown.

The haircut is beautiful on you! It frames you face beautifully, both post salon and the next day.
The only thing I see is that the curls are less defined in your non-salon version, but the cut and shape and overall vibe is still lovely.

I feel you Nancy! Any big change in cut, like what you had done, takes some time to re-sort how to get those curls to behave just right with the new shape. If it makes you feel any better my current cut took me three weeks to get anywhere near something that felt decent (the first two days I had a legit 80s mullet, not great). When you don't wash hair daily it also takes longer to sort, and of course switching to daily washing doesn't always help in the interim because then the hair texture is different! And as others have said some days are going to feel better than others (I am finding this to be particularly true with bangs). To kind of get a little control I do have different products and techniques which I'll use depending on how the initial styling turned out. No one but me seems to be able to tell, though

Wow, such great wisdom from the YLF hive mind! Thank you, everyone. It is all applicable and true and I am taking it all in. Yes, I did have a buyer's remorse moment, LOL, but the microfiber towel comment was particularly genius, and reminded me about how the stylist had dried my hair completely before adding product. (I sat under one of those old-time dryers, in fact.) That seems to have made all the difference.

I don't think there is a night-and-day difference between my hair earlier today and now, but it's different enough that I am much, much happier now. And it feels softer and not product-y like before. I guess wet hair + product creates a residue. For me, anyway.

I am thinking there is something relatable, even to those of you with different-textured hair, to commiserate with my original frustration. Hair is really, really difficult (I've always assumed straight hair is easy, but I'm sure it's not, in other ways). I am applying myself to master all this stuff about clothes and shoes and makeup and hair now, in my early fifties. It is a lot and I wish I had done it sooner now. But I'm enjoying the challenge. It really helps to have you all here to offer wise words to everyone else! You all are awesome!

xoxoxo

Even though my hair is straight I get it. I am a dunce with styling and also lazy, less so now that I'm getting up at 5:30 instead of 4:30 to make it to work; when I had that early morning wake up I couldn't spare an extra minute, even to dry or straighten. So I had to ask for the most low maintenance cut. Even then I have cowlicks and flips that do their own thing...

And I've learned by experience I need to go in every 6-7 weeks to my stylist because my hair grows that darn fast. It looks awful if I wait 8 weeks. Sometimes I get it cut a bit shorter initially so that by weeks 2-3 it looks great.

Curly hair is even less predictable; my mom has hair that's a bit less curly than yours and it's hard to know whether to wear it straight or not by the day. You kind of have to embrace the unpredictability, I think! I actually love your cut in ALL these pictures. It looks like perhaps there was a bit more product used at the salon, or maybe it was applied to dry hair and was a little more concentrated. That can make a big difference.

Just wanted to come back and say that I actually pick what I'm wearing for the day based on what my hair is doing. No joke! It's THAT unpredictable, and this is the best way I've found to "go with it"

Wow, I think the cut is great, you only need a bit of teasing your crown to add height, and that's it! YLF!