In this post, I'd like to share a few styling tips for wavy hair. It's easy enough to find information about curly or straight hair, but what about us wavy girls?! ;) I've been doing some experimenting with how I style my hair (2B/2C), and I'm sure you'll find these tips helpful if you're in the 2A-2C hair type range.
This may all sound like it would take forever or be complicated, but I swear it's easy (otherwise, I wouldn't do it), so just bear with me; I simply wanted to give a detailed description of some tips and what I do. :)
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| The finished results of this routine! |
Washing
Step 1- Okay, so, first thing's first; we gotta wash our hair. :) Begin by taking some sulfate-free shampoo and gently massaging it into your hair, focusing on the scalp. (Side-note: Every now-and-then I wash with sulfates to give my waves a fresh start if my hair feels like it has buildup.) Rinse out your shampoo.Step 2- Grab your silicone-free conditioner and smooth it into your hair. However, try to avoid putting conditioner right on the roots of your hair; this will help you keep some volume at the roots because this area can be easily weighed down by conditioner. :) While you still have condish in your hair, grab a wide-tooth comb and very gently comb through your hair to get rid of tangles. Leave in the conditioner for the rest of your shower.
Speaking of combing your hair: don't brush your hair out while it's dry. The only time you should run a comb through your hair is when you're in the shower w/ conditioner in your hair. I'm sure you know from experience, but if you brush your hair out while it's dry, it'll end up looking like this..
Styling
Step 4- Still upside down, scrunch a bit of leave-in conditioner into your ends (optional). Then scrunch out as much excess water as you can. (Side-note: I used to scrunch in product while my hair was still soaking. I've found that my hair looks better and dries a lot faster if I scrunch out excess water and then add product.)Step 5- Scrunch in your product. I usually use a gel, but sometimes I use mousse. Which one you choose to use really depends on your hair and how much hold you need. Anyway, scrunch in a generous amount of product into your hair in sections. Note that we're still upside down here. :) (You don't have to do it upside down, but it really helps with volume.) After this, scrunch your hair using a microfiber towel (or cotton t-shirt) to get more excess water out. The more water you get out, the better, because the water can really weigh down our waves while they're drying! If you'd like, you can even scrunch a bit more product into your hair after scrunching with the towel.
Step 6- Let your hair air-dry or dry it with a diffuser. Don't touch your hair until it's fully dry! Once it's dry, you can scrunch your hair to get out the crunch from your products. If your hair takes forever to dry (like mine), you can "plop" it for about 15 minutes before diffusing it. I like to follow the plopping method shown in this video by Jess from Jessicurl (she calls it "plunking"): http://youtu.be/O2qD38ZYX6A
And that's it! Your waves will thank you for taking such good care of them by looking fantastic! ;) Try this method out and let me know how it works out for you.
-CK
I tried your rinsing-in-cold-water-upside-down-while-scrunching technique, and although my hair is still drying, I think it worked really well! It made my curls a lot curlier, and they look really shiny because of the cold water. So thank you! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad it worked for you! Haha I should make up a shorter name for it; rinsing-in-cold-water-upside-down-while-scrunching is a bit of a mouthful. ;)
DeleteHi I have almost the same wave type, a little bit more wavier. You're not using any curl enhancer?
ReplyDeleteHi, Marc! Nah, I usually just use gel. :) I recently got some curly hair solutions Curl Keeper to try out & have been using it as a curl enhancer before adding gel, but I haven't noticed much of a difference between when I do and don't use it. I'll likely try out a different curl enhancer when I run out (probably Jessicurl's Rockin' ringlets!).
DeleteHey I've used Deva Curl BelieveIn and I haven't noticed a difference. When you apply the condish are you applying 1/2-3/4 from shaft? I heard for wavy's it's better not to get near the roots.
ReplyDeleteI actually haven't tried that product. :) But yes, I avoid putting conditioner on the roots. As described in the post: "...try to avoid putting conditioner right on the roots of your hair; this will help you keep some volume at the roots because this area can be easily weighed down by conditioner. :)" If I put conditioner on the roots, I lose volume; the only time I do it is after a protein treatment.
DeleteYea I've used a couple different curl enhancers myself and haven't notice much of a difference to make me want to continue to use an enhancer. Cleansing, conditioning and styling with Deva Ultra does the trick.
ReplyDeleteHow are you avoiding putting condish on your roots if your combing it through?
ReplyDeleteI just apply the conditioner w/out getting it on the roots and then comb through it with a wide tooth comb. I avoid applying it directly to the roots
DeleteI see you use Deva One conditioner. Do you find that it's heavy for your hair type and porosity?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not. In fact, it's one of the lightest conditioners I've ever tried.
DeleteMaybe heavy isn't the right word. I find Deva One extremely moisturizing which if I use too much or don't rinse out completely it will weigh my hair down.
DeleteFirst off, your hair is beautiful. Second, the canopy of my hair is not shiny and it's undefined while the bottom is beautiful spirally shiny curls. Do you have any suggestions ?Thanks, Kris
ReplyDeleteHello! Thanks for stopping by! :) it could be that your hair needs more moisture or protein. If you go to the beginners info section of my blog, you'll find a post about protein/moisture balance. Also, if you've just begun the curly girl method, it's normal to have frizz for a little while until your hair adjusts and becomes healthier :) You may also need a styling product with a stronger hold of you aren't getting enough definition.
DeleteSorry if you already said this but what products did you use in the after picture? My hair looks a lot like the before picture, mine's poofy, not a lot of curl definition, lots and lots of frizz! I have dense hair also.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I don't remember what products I was using at the time. Wish I had written it down lol. But most recently I have been using Jessicurl's spiralicious styling gel, sometimes combined with other products; my choice of shampoo and conditioner varies.
DeleteThank you for the reply! I'm going to pick up some gel as I've always used mousse and never gotten a lot of hold or structure. Can I pick your brain a little more? How often do you shampoo with a CG approved shampoo? Do you condition even when you don't shampoo? Do you add leave in everytime also? I'm trying to start my CG journey and I'm so confused! Thanks.
DeleteDefinitely :)
DeleteI use mousse occasionally, but I usually combine it with other products. Mousse alone doesn't provide enough hold/definition for my hair.
I condition my hair every time I wash it, and I shampoo every time as well. Occasionally, I go ahead and use a shampoo w/ sulfates; I live in an area with hard water that causes buildup eventually, so using a sulfate shampoo helps to clarify the hair and get rid of tough buildup. I try not to do that too often, though.
I never (well, rarely) use a leave-in conditioner because my hair tends to be weighed down easily and can get over-moisturized, but that's just me and my hair; everyone's different. I do occasionally use some oil (my personal favs are coconut, Argan, or jojoba) as a leave-in if I think my hair needs it.
I'm glad to hear that you're starting your CG journey! It can definitely be a lot to soak in at first, especially because a lot of it is just trial-and-error to find out what works for you. You should think about joining naturallycurly.com's forum if you haven't already; they helped me a lot at the beginning of my journey. ;) Another thing that you might want to look into is the curly girl handbook by Lorraine Massey. Lots of helpful tips in there!