I had a hair cut two days ago. I changed nothing from my routine, the only difference was the cut!  The first picture was taken on a really good curl day, pre-cut. The second is after the cut. No length taken off during the cut, just layers and texturing the ends of the upper layers.  

The texturing prevented the "shelf" look that I'm always so afraid of when I ask for layers. My hairdresser was awesome, she showed me part way thru that a shelf was appearing, and told me she was going to blend it out by texturing the ends of the shorter pieces. She talked thru everything she was doing and genuinely seemed to love cutting curly hair. It was a really good experience. 

I'm 40 and I've never gotten the top layer to curl before. I was resigned to thinking my top layer was actually straight. My hair is baby-fine, so I think conditions have to be perfect for it to curl. So happy, never thought I'd see the day! 

.......

Routine: shampoo with Aussie Wavy.  Scrub scalp only, and let the shampoo hit my ends only when I rinse it. Then I free the top layer of curls by lifting individual strands away from my head with my fingers then setting them down. 

Condition with Aussie Wavy conditioner. I spread it on my fingers then rake them thru lower half of the strands (basically anything below where it could touch my scalp). Gently rinse out while rakiing fingers through it to keep the layers sitting where I arranged them during the shampoo step. I dont re-wet my whole head when rinsing out the conditioner, only the lower half where I applied it. Then I loosen up the hair a bit by raking and shaking my fingers simultaneously. 

Dry: plop on a hand towel that I secure shut at the back of my head with a scrunchie. I don't twist the towel at all or the curls stretch out flat. After 5 minutes remove the towel, arrange the curls by raking/ shaking my fingers again. 

Style: rake small amount of Tresemme Flawless Curls mousse immediately after towel drying. Rearrange the top layer once more and finger curl any spots that aren't clumping. 

Airdry without touching. It only takes maybe 45 minutes to dry, even whem in clumps. Gently shake it out once it is dry. 

Before & After hair cut