lessening the volume of curly hair

I've been growing my hair out for the past few years and it is incredibly thick and curly. when its wet it goes into a ringlet sort of a thing, and when it is dry it just poofs out and im really sick of it. it is just too big now. I dont want to cut it because if i do then it will just kind of spring back up due to the lack of weight. So what im wondering is if there is any way to lessen the volume of my hair without having to cut it or go buy a bunch of hair products. some people tell me to just straighten it but honestly im not really sure how to do that or if it will look very good. So if there is anyone who can help me out, i will very much appreciate it.

hmm....i'll give that try sometime. it makes sense. thanks for the idea. Some one also told me i should comb my hair when its wet then put gel in it? does anybody know if that would work? or have any other ideas, im getting kind of desperate. if you need to see pictures feel free to instant message me or something. my hair is about a foot long in the back and then the bangs go down to my mouth when i pull them down, but when i leave them alone they are just barely in my eyes. im open to any ideas that anyone has, thanks


Edited by PerfectImpact0

You def. don't want to use a brush on curly hair. If you want to reduce volume you can try doing it with products. Try Redken smooth down shampoo and butter treat conditioner. They really smooth out hair and control frizz. Then for styling try a mixture of Sebastian Potion 9 and Sebastian laminates drops or Laminates gel. The gel form would probably work better.  That should work. If it doesn't and you decide to chemically straighten your hair, get a texturizer instead. Rusk Radical Anticurl, Redken Vertical or Loreal X-tenso work wonders. They will reduce the volume. Not only will your hair be frizz free, your curls will be smooth and looser. And if you decide you want to wear your hair straight all you have to do is blow dry and/or flat iron, and you'll have beautifull straight, shiny, frizz free hair. Check out my post on the straight talk forum under "The fight against humidity". I listed all the products that I have found to work great (at least for me) as well as my hair routine. It might work for you, so take a pick and let me know if you tried it, and if it worked.