Should I layer my hair?

I have really curly, thick hair that poofs out like and afro if it's completely curly. I've gotten it chemically straightened in the past so it has about 3 month's worth of curly hair growth, while the majority is straight, so it's not too bad to handle. However, I'd like to layer it, but I'm not sure if this is a good idea since I've never done it before. Compounding the problem is that I need to pull it back into a bun pretty much very single day. Right now it's about 1-1.5 inches past my shoulders.