Hi Sophie,
Your problem is a common one with people with naturally curly hair. There are several options for you to correct this and to get lift on the roots. One point to watch for is the condition of your hair and the thickness.
Option one, if your hair is in good condition and reasonably thick, a perm can be applied. An experienced stylist can just perm the roots and leave your natural curls.
Option two, this option is especially good if your hair is of a finer texture. You could use a curling iron and just curl the roots to give lift (be careful not to burn the scalp).
Option three, use small setting rollers and set only the roots, leaving the rest of your curly hair to dry naturally.
Option four, this also depends on how long your hair is, could be as simple as a good haircut to improve the curl and root lift.
During my many years in hairdressing, I came across many clients with the same type of hair problem as you. Usually the reason for this particular problem was easy to solve, depending on individual hair conditions, structure and products used. In some cases it was their diet (you are what you eat), a simple change of diet fixed this problem, whereas others needed a good cut and others needed to change the products they used on their hair, especially at home.
I strongly advise you to visit a good salon near to where you live and let an experienced stylist diagnose your problem in-salon. It may be a simple solution to solve your problem. Today there are some amazing professional hair care products available from salons, which could cure the lack of root curls and lift in your hair.
One question I have for you, do you use conditioners on your hair? It could be that the type of conditioner you use causes a lack of volume, or maybe you don't rinse the hair long enough. A professional stylist could advice you on which products to use to improve the curl and give you more root lift.
Also remember that perms do grow out and soon your roots could be flat again. Personally, I would recommend for you to try all the above mentioned avenues first - by using different products and curling techniques without the use of chemicals - and only go down the perming route if nothing else works.
May I recommend you try 'Elasticizer' by Philip Kingsley. These products are especially developed by 'Trichologists' for people who have specialised hair problems. You can view and read about these products on http://www.philipkingsley.com. For your information, we are one of the main Philip Kingsley stockists in Manchester city centre.
A visit to a good salon and an experienced stylist is the way to go forward. I hope my advice will give you some ideas in finding a satisfactory solution for you and I hope soon you have the bounce back in your wonderful naturally curly hair.
