Naturally curly hair that goes limp; need a new 'do

Hi everyone...

This is my first time posting to a board about hair, so please bear with me. :)

I have shoulder-length (or maybe a bit longer) hair. It is red, fine and has natural curl.

The problem is this:

The bottom of my hair has been layered a bit for 'body'. But the shortest layers are from my 'bang area', which end just below my chin.

Because of the weight of my hair (or maybe the type of curl I have), only the ends manage to maintain any curl. The rest goes straight-wavy, including these 'bangs'.

When I try to wear my hair down (i.e. not in a ponytail), I try to use mousse, gel or hairspray to get the curl to stay in and brush the hair back a bit, away from my face.

For the first hour, it's fine. Once that hour or so goes by, however, I lose all body I had in those areas and they flop forward into my face (and in fact, I lose the curl nearly completely so it's more straight-wavy).

The result: I pull my hair back into a ponytail and end up with headaches from the ponytail.

I'm considering getting it cut, but not too short. I do like a bit of the length. Because of that I'm considering shorter layers than what I have... possibly getting real 'bangs' after so many years of having none.

I'd like something that is fairly low maintenance, yet has the ability to look 'professional'... if that's possible. ;)

Anyways, thanks for any help in advance!