Reddit mentions of Curly Like Me: How to Grow Your Hair Healthy, Long, and Strong

Absolutely. I'm multiracial as well so I've got a good idea of what you're going through as far as getting it to look the way you want.

My best piece of advice for you is to read Curly Like Me by Teri Laflesh, it's a godsend. If you're not interested in reading the entire thing, the most helpful chapters are 3 & 4 on shampooing & conditioning detailing the best method to use for keeping your hair looking good all week. It's what I did years ago when I started growing mine, and I've followed what I learned from it ever since with great results.

My more in-depth routine:

• Rinse
  
• apply conditioner liberally (Aussie Moist), no such thing as too much
  
• detangle (hand or brush)
  
• twist hair into 6-8 sections with conditioner still in, creating big coils
  Stop here
  
  If you want kinkier/chunky curls (1):
  
• with each section, barely rinse out conditioner (only let water run over it for 3-5 seconds while undoing the sections)
  
• air dry
  This leaves the hair more coily and somewhat intertwined if that makes sense. Thicker coils and they hang heavier.
  
  If you want more defined, individual, lengthier, larger volume curls (2):
  
• rinse conditioner
  
• get rid of any remaining tangles
  
• reapply conditioner everywhere without sectioning
  
• air dry
  This will really showcase your hair length more. Each individual curl will be easier to see, and not coiled together with other curls. It does take up more volume, and in my own experience doesn't last as long as method 1 after washing.
  
  With both routines your hair will still look great even days after washing. If you're wondering why the conditioner doesn't get rinsed out, I'll tell you why. It can't do it's job entirely if it's down the drain. The purpose of leaving the conditioner in your hair is to "seal" your individual curl strands together. This brings many benefits, such as:
  
• no frizz, the fact that they're sealed together makes them harder to break apart (more resistant to wind and friction)
  
• more shine
  
• hair hangs instead of "poofs"
  
• hair stays looking the same as the day you washed it until the conditioner wears out (which is typically about 4 days average for me)
  
  Hope this helps. If you need anything else lemme know

As for the hair question, check out Naturally Curly or this book Curly Like Me. I hope she never feels ashamed of having a curly hair type.

Your hair sounds exactly like mine (when I wasn't sure how to take care of it). Does your hair end up curly or wavy when it's wet? 'Cause then you probably have curly or wavy hair.

After I finally stopped trying to straightening my hair, I spent a lot of time experimenting with this and that. After a long time I've found a few things that work really, really well.

This is a really good leave in conditioner, but you might want to avoid the Silk Elements shampoo entirely. It cleans pretty well, but it dries out your hair way too much; the chemicals are too harsh in it. So instead, I use this. It's sulfate, phosphate and paraben free (all things you want to avoid, especially when you have wavy/curly hair, but found in many shampoos), and also a little pricey, but when I used it for the first time, I could feel the difference -it felt so much better to even use, let alone look at. I'm on my first bottle still (it's a little over halfway done) and it's been a month (my hair reaches the small of my back and it's very thick), so I'm thinking it'll last even longer for you, assuming that you have way shorter hair since you're a guy. And lastly, I use this once a week. I don't know if the masque is necessary for you because I'm (again) guessing your hair is shorter than mine because you're a guy, and therefor healthier because it's not as long (the longer your hair is, the weaker it is at the bottom because it's been there for a while, therefore more subject to natural wear-'n-tear).

You can also swing by the library and pick up some books on curly hair, too (that's how I got started). When I was still learning the ropes, I found this one, and even though this book is more a guide on really curly hair (I have more wavy hair than anything), I definitely picked up a few tips from it.

I hope this helped you a bit. Your hair is a part of yourself as much as your DNA, unique and unlike any other's, so cherish and bring out the best in it! Good luck on your future hair endeavors~!