I'm taking my mother to get a mini makeover. The problem my mother and I are having is that she has incredibly long (mid back), extremely thick thick, dry, curly, frizzy hair. She has years of damage on her hair and still gets her roots done. What I really need to know is what kind of haircut would be best for her. She loves long hair and will not get it cut any shorter then a little past her shoulders, she would also love to wear it straight. I have straightened it for her many times but it really doesn't work well without a style to it. She's on the short side only 5'2 and when she tries to wear it down it completely over powers her. I know she can have beautiful hair because I have inherited long think hair just like her. The only difference is I learned how to really take care of my hair from when I was a little girl. She is my best friend in the world and now that I'm older I want her to look and feel as beautiful as she truly is. And to her and me it all starts with the hair. If someone can please give me some haircut advise it would really mean a lot. I was thinking of having her hair cut a little past her shoulders with some long layers, and angles starting chin length. Is that right?? Should she have her hair thinned out ?? Where could I go to get some hairstyle pictures?? PLEASE HELP!!!! Thank you... ???  ;D

How wonderful of you to do a mini makeover for your mother.

I'm not sure I can offer much help to you.  Around here, we all try to grow our hair as long as possible and usually try to avoid layers.  If the ends of her hair are really damaged, a good trim would probably help.  Since she prefers her hair long, I'd suggest trying to trim/cut as little as possible and still leave her with much of her length.

Having thick curly hair can require a different washing/conditioning regime than those of us with straight hair.  Curly hair tends to be drier than straight hair.  Many curly haired people don't even use shampoo as it over dries their hair.  An inexpensive daily conditioner will actually clean the hair quite well, then followed by a heavier condioner on the ends.  

Leaving the hair to air dry, so the curls can form naturally will give a beautiful look to long curls. Brushes are usually banned by curly heads, and wide toothed combs are used to comb, detangle and define the curls after washing.

Oiling the dry ends will help return shine and moisture as well as helping with frizzies.  Olive oil is used by many, but if that is too heavy, jojoba oil works very well.  Shea butter on the ends can also give back the needed moisture.  

I hope this helps a bit.

Sounds like you and your mother have a very special bond, that's so wonderful!  I myself have thin, straight hair...but I used to have a friend with very thick, course, curly hair and I know how she struggled with caring for it.  I don't exactly know what her washing method was, but I do know that to get her hair under control what she finally did was get a good cut with long layers - this really gave her curls life and allowed her to keep the length in the back.  Then for styling, she would actually use baby oil (we didn't know about all the natural oils out there yet!) and work it through her hair, not against her scalp, though, just the rest of it.  You would have never known it was oil in her hair, I guess because it was so coarse and thirsty!  It separated all her beautiful curls and gave her hair a nice shine (not a gross oily shine, though) and relaxed it enough that it actually looked long and flowy, not all scruched up on her head.  So I think that the right cut and right nourishing products are the key to her great hair, perhaps your hairdresser can lend some expertise on this as well.  Best of Luck - please keep us updated on how it goes!  ;D

I'd suggest finding a stylist that has curly hair herself.  I have thick wavy hair, and got the best haircuts from women who's hair was similar to mine.  

If she doesn't wear it up much, layers will probably be fine.

I've been having very good results with LouiseMarie Longhairs products, you can check them out at www.hairgasm.com-click on the newbie catalog.

Using her products has significantly decreased my dry time, and the bliss balm (shea butter & essential oils) is a true gift for dry and damaged ends.

Good Luck!