Until I started to gray, my hair was so smooth, I could not keep barrettes or ponytail holders in it. They just slid out. My gray is coarser. (A cosmetologist called it "Glassine hair" (spelling?). I like having the choice of length, now that it has enough texture to keep a clip in it. During the day I just clip it back, and I still have the long hair DH loves. My hair is about 90/10, so it holds in place for a couple hours before I have to redo it. My hair, feels like most children's hair, baby soft. I even had one gal tell me my hair wasn't damaged enough, so I let her talk me into a perm. Can we say 'poof"? I looked like a poodle, and all she did was a body perm! so no perms or dyes for me anymore. I earned my gray hair and I will die with it. Works for me.