Questions to wavies

amaree

This is my third time trying to go natural. I would like to know what other wavies are doing as their routine. I've been having hard time figuring out a routine that works for me. I've been thinking about giving up again, because I don't like my 2b(?) waves. I wish I had 3a/3b or straight hair. There are pictures in the end, first from last time I went natural and second is taken today. In the first picture I don't particularly have good or bad hair day, but better than now.

1. Do you wash your hair upside down? Why/why not?
- I wash my hair upside down, but I feel like it causes my underlayers not to curl. But if I wash my hair normally, I still have to flip my hair to apply product, scrunch and plopp. The struggle.

2. How do you dry your hair? Does diffusing work for your hair?
I feel like I sometimes get better waves and sometimes I get weird straight pieces or straight ends.

3. Do you have any methods that work wonders for your hair? Like spritz and condish or plopping?

4. Do you have any other special advice for me?

Thank you for replying! :love4:

Padraigin

I am not an expert. I have slightly tighter wave pattern, but it may be styling. Do you always have such deep layers? I ask because I've had several stylist over the years give me layers or try to convince me on deeper layers to make my curls "spring up" . My hair is not that heavy unless very long. My waves look better without deep waves. I like long layers that are subtle at the bottom. If my layers are deep, then my bottom layer looks stringy. I'm trying to grow some out right now given to me by a "curl expert". Your hair looks fairly fine, and I suspect those layers aren't helping as much as they would with someone with thicker waves.

I've tried various styling CG styling techniques. Plopping makes my hair curlier, but for me, it's not my best look. My crown gets a little wierd especially in back. The plopping clumps my curls, but then I look like I have less hair and sometimes like I used a curling iron. It's worth trying though because some people do really well with plopping. I scrunch my hair with product while wet, and then scrunch out excess moisture with a tshirt. My. Hair lays better if I don't do this upside down. My hair has fewer large clumped curls, but has a tighter wave pattern over all. I do apply product upside down. I don't wash my hair upside down and never plan to do so. I tried it a couple times and do not get the logic.

My hair looks best if I use a diffuser to partially dry. I have a lot of products. Have you tried anything with Magnesium Sulfate? I'm afraid to use very often, but I get really nice results. This isn't the same as the cleansing sulfates, and it seems to be a product many CG use. Mag. Sulfate is curl enhancer. It's often in products that claim to give you beach hair because it's salt. My favorite non-cg product is Suave Captivating Curls, but it contains cones. I'm trying to find something that makes my hoar look as good as it does with that stuff.

I was my hair with cg friendly sulfate free shampoo (various brands) mostly. Many wavies do better washing hair. Sometimes I cond wash. My hair is in good condition. I think that getting your hair into good condition by avoiding harsh soaps etc is the actual point of CG.

claudine191

What are deep layers?

I'm a wavy also, but the winter wind blows away my curls, so I don't do much this time of year. I do use a diffuser, with Ouidad product, but again, the weather decides whether my waves will tighten or fall. Accepting all this unpredictability has been a challenge, but I think I'm almost there. HTH

amaree

I have grown my layers out, because I prefer not to have layers when wearing straight. I don't know if I want to cut my hair. I will probably end up straightening again, so I would regret cutting layers to enchance my waves. :l It would help tho. Maybe I need to re-consider.

I almost always wash only my hair(and then shower in the morning), so I have to wash it upside down.

claudine191

I prefer to have layers, otherwise my heavy canopy weighs down the ringlets underneath. I think wavy hair may possibly be the most unpredictable?

btw, your English is great.

noodly

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noodly

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ttoosday

noodly wrote: »

amaree wrote: »

because I don't like my 2b(?) waves. I wish I had 3a/3b or straight hair.

Most of my family on my father's side have 3a-4a hair and I can assure you that it might look good and cool once you know how to care for it, YOU DO NOT WANT CURLY HAIR ONCE YOU KNOW HOW TO CARE FOR WAVY HAIR. I say this with caps because you should realize how blessed you are with hair that looks curly except being 10 times easier to care for it. It's sad how I've read multiple times on this website how people dont like their wavy hair. I mean can't you just see how beautiful and elegants your waves are? Did you know alexandragirlytalk has wavy hair? Wavy hair is gorgeous!
Sorry for this annoying preach it just saddens me how some people here on naturallycurly dont like their wavepattern(which is why I call myself a wavie and not a curlie).

I have found myself saying this as well. I have a hard time liking my waves. I can only speak for myself, but the main reason I'd rather just have full blown curls instead of waves is because of the inconsistency. Sure, waves look great but it's next to impossible to get them the way I envision and want them to look. It's the hardest lesson ever to realize I have waves.....oh but not beautiful and elegant waves, I get weird unpatterened, ugly and unmanageable waves. It's cruel, really. My waves are so in between straight and curly, it's hard to identify*with either and exhausting trying to coax the beauty and elegance out, if it's even there, which it probably isn't.

noodly

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claudine191

I see your point, ttoosday. It's that very inconsistency that I've come to enjoy, however. Every day is different, and I now find that entertaining (most of the time). Right now one of my layers, in the area right beside my face, has decided to curl out, so that it looks like the tip of a wizard's shoe. Not my favorite look.

noodly, you have a great perspective on waves.

amaree

noodly wrote: »

Ugly hair isn't 2a-2c. "Ugly" hair is hair that isn't cared properly for. Your waves are probably unpatterned and unmanageable because you don't know how to care for it. I used to be in the same boat and since my hair actually looks good now if I do say so myself, people think I have thick curly hair(I always correct them though, am a proud wavie!). It's good you have accepted your curlpattern, allot of people haven't and treat their hair curly which is why their hair fails(in their opinion not mine!). When you start your hairjourney properly I promise you will have "thick"(for us) lucious waves! Look at this girl's hair:
My Curly/Wavy Hair Routine! - YouTube
Is this ugly? Even though I'm not a fan of using her routine on my own hair, it looks amazing on her! Tori Kelly has awesome hair too. And so do many many other wavies.

You're not a straightie or curlie! You are a wavie! The beauty industry is to blame too, they think wavy hair is curled with a curlwand. I personally think hair that is curled with a curlwand should be called shifty or something. It's totally unrealistic to be wavy... I hope more and more wavies come out of the closet .

Why is it so hard to believe, that someone just doesn't really like wavy hair? Actually, I don't like most of 2's pictures here(and the ones I like, I cannot get those waves myself) and I don't like that girl's hair either. Not because it's wavy, but because it is short. Tori Kelly's hair is very nice, but try to get that volume with scandinavian thin hair(and my waves don't start that close to root).

I've been trying to figure out what makes my hair great, but it just never is. And it isn't like some magic moment, when you suddenly realize what you have to do and what products to use. It needs so much trial and error and I really do get frustrated when nothing is working.

noodly

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amaree

noodly wrote: »

Mind to show me a picture of your hair? I'm really curious now. You can censor your face if you want.

I attached pictures to the first message, but here is picture of today. Second day hair, I used Bonacure Sulphate-free shampoo, Tresemme Naturals conditioner and first time I used KCKT as leave in and KCCC as a styler. But this is very similar to first posts second picture and I don't like it...

noodly

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chupie

Sooooo, I guess if you don't like your waves, and want 3 type curls or straight, I'm not sure what you are looking for here. I guess if I just couldn't stand my pattern, I'd have to perm or blow straight. You don't necessarily have to use a straight iron. A denman and a blowdryer with a concentrator on it should get you pretty smooth hair. Also, try smoothing in products from root to tip before that to keep frizzes down. That should keep damage to a minimum. I'm a little at a loss as to what advice you want otherwise as it seems you don't care for anyone's hair that is a 2. And yours is definitely a 2. Don't get me wrong. I would much much rather be a 3 also. But so would a lot of 4s and some straight haired girls. But we just don't get to have that naturally.

noodly

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chupie

noodly wrote: »

chupie wrote: »

Sooooo, I guess if you don't like your waves, and want 3 type curls or straight, I'm not sure what you are looking for here. I guess if I just couldn't stand my pattern, I'd have to perm or blow straight. You don't necessarily have to use a straight iron. A denman and a blowdryer with a concentrator on it should get you pretty smooth hair. Also, try smoothing in products from root to tip before that to keep frizzes down. That should keep damage to a minimum. I'm a little at a loss as to what advice you want otherwise as it seems you don't care for anyone's hair that is a 2. And yours is definitely a 2. Don't get me wrong. I would much much rather be a 3 also. But so would a lot of 4s and some straight haired girls. But we just don't get to have that naturally.

Your hair already looked superb but now its superbbb! What did you do?!?

I had a couple great hair weeks. My two fave products Camille Rose CurlMaker and Briogeo Curl Charisma Leave In (which is really a curl cream). If I use either of those I seem to get great hair. I always use VMM on top and diffuse. I'm in need of a deep condition this week though. The pic is totally "fresh" so it does fall some but yeah, I've been fairly happy. Like the OP I would like 3a/b hair but you gets what you gets 2a is doing well for me overall.

amaree

noodly wrote: »

Yes I wanted to see how your hair looks now.
I don't really like seeing thin haired wavies using too much products, I as a thin haired wavie have much better hair without products. Also wavies never have good second day hair if they dont preserve the waves like this for example: How to Preserve Curls Overnight! Curly Hair Routine Part 2
So how do you preserve your waves? Have you tried washing it with a sulfate shampoo without silicones to start with a clean canvas by the way? I think you should try that. Try shampooing with for example a herbal essence 0%silicones shampoo and scrunch it while its wet with your hands first(upside down, and dont forget to regularly scrunch it til its dry!)to see what your real hair looks like. I bet it would look better and you'd have a better idea what your real hair looks like.

If you wonder what I think of your hair: it got great potention! It just looks weighed down. And did you color it? If so: that might be a culprit for looser waves(though I heard some wavies even got wavier from dying it)

I pineapple my hair at night and place it above my head so I don't smush it in my sleep. I do wash it with sulfate shampoo sometimes, but there is no difference. If I scrunch while my hair is drying, it gets very frizzy and not clumpy at all. It is so hard do leave hair without any styler, because I wash my hair quite seldom and I'm stuck with that hair for days then. But I have to give it a go. Last time I bleached my roots was spring 2013 and it has grown a quite bit. I have only put some lowlights of my own hair colour to my blonde ends to balance the color difference. So it's half virgin and half bleached.

chupie wrote: »

Sooooo, I guess if you don't like your waves, and want 3 type curls or straight, I'm not sure what you are looking for here. I guess if I just couldn't stand my pattern, I'd have to perm or blow straight. You don't necessarily have to use a straight iron. A denman and a blowdryer with a concentrator on it should get you pretty smooth hair. Also, try smoothing in products from root to tip before that to keep frizzes down. That should keep damage to a minimum. I'm a little at a loss as to what advice you want otherwise as it seems you don't care for anyone's hair that is a 2. And yours is definitely a 2. Don't get me wrong. I would much much rather be a 3 also. But so would a lot of 4s and some straight haired girls. But we just don't get to have that naturally.

I don't have money to spent in salon straightenings and my hair breaks so badly if I straighten it. I have had days that my hair is pretty nice, but now it's just a mess. I get so annoyed when it doesn't turn out even decent. And if it is decent after wash, it will definitely straighten. Also, we don't have almost any products that are recommended here and most you can't even order here(or shipping cost is like $20). This is my third time trying this and I really want to make it work. Even though I would prefer to be 3 or straightie, I would like to have decent wavy hair.

noodly

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Trick

I rinse and condition on the days I don't wash because I need to start over every day.

amaree

noodly wrote: »

Amaree, pineappling wont work if your roots are straight or if your waves are weak.
http://youtu.be/7L23hrWWO4c Her routine works better. and instead of shampooing your hair everyday or skipping washingbyour hair everyday, rinsing it with just water might help so you can restyle it everyday OR spritzing and then scrunching it with water everyday might help.

If scrunching wont work you're either doing it wrong somehow and/or your hair is too damaged to scrunch. I think growing it out will make your hair better instantly. Believe me I was in the same boat and my hair now is even wavier than in profile picture and thicker and I don't use mousse or styling products anymore. I think eventually if one is "waking up" you'll understand how your hair works. You'll get there, I promise. I feel ridiculous and stupid when I said loose waves are ugly. I really do.

I know pineappling pulls my roots, but it's the only way I can sleep. Maybe I have to try that method again, but last time I couldn't sleep...

Only the very ends of my hair are damaged, so I don't think that damage is a problem anymore.

I've been noticing that my hair doesn't really like gels and I think I get the best waves with mousse. But mousse makes my hair quite frizzy and then again weighed down if I apply jojoba oil to ends. Is there any non-frizzy CG-friendly mousses that I can get from EU for max 15€?

amaree

noodly wrote: »

Well if you just apply a light oil on just the ends and it already gets weighed down I think oils or creams arent the best for you(besides for that once a month deep treatment), I also suffered from frizz what helped me was not perse the product but the moment I applied mousse. When it was almost dry instead of wet. I'm not CG so I can't recommend CG products. And if you're interested in mousse I found something for you! I think you should try this without any other products(so no conditioner) but mousse since your hair gets easily weighed down

What are the ingredients that I should look in a conditioner if oils and creams do not work for me? I still need moisture to my ends. Every time I have complained about my hair loosing wave, I have been told to condition more. Could it really be that it doesn't work for me and I have been conditioning too much?

Can I try to use little bit of KCCC before or after(which would be better?) I apply mousse? Mousse always gives me severe frizz and when I used KCCC I had very little. Or is it going to weight it down even if I use it tiny bit?

I was thinking about buying new mousse, because my current one, that I used when going straight, has denat. alcohol in it. I found this finnish mousse for curly hair. How does this ingredient list sound like: Aqua, Butane, Propane, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Petrolatum, Paraffinum Liquidum, Panthenol, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Sodium Chloride,Diazolidinyl Urea, Parfum, Linalool, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Salicylate, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene.? Is it bad? The petrolatum scares me a bit, is that something that I should not even consider?
Other option is Aussie Aussome Volume + Conditioning mousse, is that better? We don't really have lot of good curl approved mousses here and Paul Mitchell Sculpting Foam costs something like $34...

SereneCurls

amaree wrote: »

noodly wrote: »

Well if you just apply a light oil on just the ends and it already gets weighed down I think oils or creams arent the best for you(besides for that once a month deep treatment), I also suffered from frizz what helped me was not perse the product but the moment I applied mousse. When it was almost dry instead of wet. I'm not CG so I can't recommend CG products. And if you're interested in mousse I found something for you! I think you should try this without any other products(so no conditioner) but mousse since your hair gets easily weighed down

What are the ingredients that I should look in a conditioner if oils and creams do not work for me? I still need moisture to my ends. Every time I have complained about my hair loosing wave, I have been told to condition more. Could it really be that it doesn't work for me and I have been conditioning too much?

Can I try to use little bit of KCCC before or after(which would be better?) I apply mousse? Mousse always gives me severe frizz and when I used KCCC I had very little. Or is it going to weight it down even if I use it tiny bit?

I was thinking about buying new mousse, because my current one, that I used when going straight, has denat. alcohol in it. I found this finnish mousse for curly hair. How does this ingredient list sound like: Aqua, Butane, Propane, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Petrolatum, Paraffinum Liquidum, Panthenol, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Sodium Chloride,Diazolidinyl Urea, Parfum, Linalool, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Salicylate, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene.? Is it bad? The petrolatum scares me a bit, is that something that I should not even consider?
Other option is Aussie Aussome Volume + Conditioning mousse, is that better? We don't really have lot of good curl approved mousses here and Paul Mitchell Sculpting Foam costs something like $34...

Hey. First, about your mousse ingredients; the one you're worried about does have a tendency to build up for some people. If it's difficult to get your hands on products where you are, and you want to try it out, that's fine as long as you're prepared to do a sulfate wash if you have problems.
As far as conditioners go, you're looking for fatty alcohols and cationic surfactants. Humectants might also help your hair unless you're in a climate where the dew points are very high or very low. All these ingredients can help condition the hair.

amaree

SereneCurls wrote: »

Hey. First, about your mousse ingredients; the one you're worried about does have a tendency to build up for some people. If it's difficult to get your hands on products where you are, and you want to try it out, that's fine as long as you're prepared to do a sulfate wash if you have problems.
As far as conditioners go, you're looking for fatty alcohols and cationic surfactants. Humectants might also help your hair unless you're in a climate where the dew points are very high or very low. All these ingredients can help condition the hair.

So Tresemme Naturals is fine for rinse out? Is that Aussie mousse better than the other one?

noodly wrote: »

SereneCurls basically answered all your questions lol. And I forgot to paste this link: http://youtu.be/oOkYOFf3EoU

I have actually seen that video. I'm going to try that for sure, but I don't really like that frizz and non-clumpyness. It looks very dry and kinda stringy. I like that volume tho.

SereneCurls

amaree wrote: »

SereneCurls wrote: »

Hey. First, about your mousse ingredients; the one you're worried about does have a tendency to build up for some people. If it's difficult to get your hands on products where you are, and you want to try it out, that's fine as long as you're prepared to do a sulfate wash if you have problems.
As far as conditioners go, you're looking for fatty alcohols and cationic surfactants. Humectants might also help your hair unless you're in a climate where the dew points are very high or very low. All these ingredients can help condition the hair.

So Tresemme Naturals is fine for rinse out? Is that Aussie mousse better than the other one?

noodly wrote: »

SereneCurls basically answered all your questions lol. And I forgot to paste this link: http://youtu.be/oOkYOFf3EoU

I have actually seen that video. I'm going to try that for sure, but I don't really like that frizz and non-clumpyness. It looks very dry and kinda stringy. I like that volume tho.

The Aussie mousse doesn't have any problem ingredients that I can see, you might be"better off with that one, yes. The Tresume Naturals conditioners are pretty good, I use the moisture one as a rinse out and it has some good conditioning ingredients without being too heavy on oils.

amaree

SereneCurls wrote: »

The Aussie mousse doesn't have any problem ingredients that I can see, you might be"better off with that one, yes. The Tresume Naturals conditioners are pretty good, I use the moisture one as a rinse out and it has some good conditioning ingredients without being too heavy on oils.

Okay, I have to get that mousse tomorrow!

Today I shampooed with sulfate shampoo to get everything out of my hair. Then I used Tresemme Naturals as rinse out. I washed my hair upside down, because I feel like it makes best results. After washing I dried my hair with t-shirt and applied pea-size amount of KCKT and then mousse(that has alcohol, but I do not have anything else right now). I diffused to almost dry and then let it air-dry. It came out bit wavier and better for sure, but something still isn't right. My roots look weird and my hair is overall frizzy and puffy. I don't really know what would work better.

Edit: I couldn't stand this either. So I straightened it... :l

chupie

See I think that looked nice. I'm just not sure you aren't looking for a different hair pattern than you have. I get that. I wish I had way more wave than I do, real curls actually, but I've come to accept what I have and do as much as I can with it. That's a hard thing to do so I do get it but I'm just not sure there is anything we could recommend you will like.

chupie

I'd so kill for that hair.

EverydayCurls

ttoosday wrote: »

I have found myself saying this as well. I have a hard time liking my waves. I can only speak for myself, but the main reason I'd rather just have full blown curls instead of waves is because of the inconsistency. Sure, waves look great but it's next to impossible to get them the way I envision and want them to look. It's the hardest lesson ever to realize I have waves.....oh but not beautiful and elegant waves, I get weird unpatterened, ugly and unmanageable waves. It's cruel, really. My waves are so in between straight and curly, it's hard to identify*with either and exhausting trying to coax the beauty and elegance out, if it's even there, which it probably isn't.

I can't answer you original question, and I didn't read this whole thread so maybe someone already said this, but having curly hair does not remove the uncertainty. I have 3b hair, but each time I wash it, I just hope for the best. Even when it curls, sometimes it curls weirdly, has 90° curls, looks wavy (happens if I have big clumps, all the hair pulls it down since it's so long if I don't brush before plopping to have tiny clumps), etc. so I never know how it will turn out. Wavy hair is gorgeous too, so everyone should be happy with the hair they have.

Edit: I looked above and saw your picture. Your hair looks pretty. If you have wavy hair, it's unlikely that it will become curly now, but that doesn't mean it's not pretty. A lot of people prefer wavy hair (outside of this forum). It's the more "accept" curliness.

amaree

noodly wrote: »

I'm going to get bashed for this but for your next wash try to rinse without conditioner and do not diffuse it until its semi-dry(upside down btw!) so your natural waves can form on its own for a bit. (And clip your roots too btw)Also I cannot see the frizz or puffiness to be honest, the waves just looks a bit weighed down because you've been creating them with the diffuser and used a conditioner. And I'm going to get really bashed for this but since you cant seem to accept your 2a waves how about you apply a zitload of mousse and create them from scratch? It will get hard but if it dries you must scrunch out the scrunch by scrunching extra hard lol. I see it as a beginning to accept your waves.
I really disagree on your opinion about Layla's hair btw
http://youtu.be/TrU4QVNW0kc
How can you find this ugly?!?

I am kind of scared about using no conditioner. I don't even know if I have ever not used conditioner. I haven't found good mousse here, that has strong hold and doesn't contain alcohol or silicones. I bought the Aussie one, but it seems to have almost no hold.Also, I did not say that Layla's hair is ugly. I would like that hair over mine for sure. It's just again something I can't achieve, because my hair is nothing like that. And I do like my hair, when the styling is right. But when I get it right, it is so hard to recreate.

EverydayCurls wrote: »

I can't answer you original question, and I didn't read this whole thread so maybe someone already said this, but having curly hair does not remove the uncertainty. I have 3b hair, but each time I wash it, I just hope for the best. Even when it curls, sometimes it curls weirdly, has 90° curls, looks wavy (happens if I have big clumps, all the hair pulls it down since it's so long if I don't brush before plopping to have tiny clumps), etc. so I never know how it will turn out. Wavy hair is gorgeous too, so everyone should be happy with the hair they have.

Edit: I looked above and saw your picture. Your hair looks pretty. If you have wavy hair, it's unlikely that it will become curly now, but that doesn't mean it's not pretty. A lot of people prefer wavy hair (outside of this forum). It's the more "accept" curliness.

I feel like the ends are fine, but my roots act bit weird. They look dirty even after wash, but if I then straighten my hair, it looks fine. I don't know how to clip either. I have tried but then I make little bumps in the roots. I don't know how else describe them. But it doesn't look nice.

I actually love chupie's hair, it's so beautiful. But how I could get my hair looking like that? :-|

chupie

Your hair is very much like mine. I have my haircut in long layers for more oomph. My hair is medium weight for the most part and porous. I do not cowash. I use a diluted sulfate or Kinky Curly Come clean (even that I dilute.) my scalp is even dryish but looks greasy if I cowash. I squish lots of conditioner in the length though and u use a leave in in the ends. I use a lot if protein products. Cure Care and Ion Effective care from Sallys along with Generic Value Conditioning Balm. I use them a curl cream or jelly and the Volume mega Max from Sallys as a hard hold gel. You can see techniques I use in my vids. I clip my sides up when I'm down to pull the wavy ends up higher which make it look fuller and curlier. The longer I've done this the better by wave pattern. Winter I usually lose wave again. As for clipping I treat my hair kind of like sculpture and push it around clipping it in a shape how I like it but a bit exaggerated because it WILL collapse some. I hope some of those tips help. Oh. And I sleep with my hair pineapples high on my head at night. It doesn't preserve much wave but it gives my volume and helps keep the length from getting roughed up. I can't recover from sleeping with my hair down well second or third day. After third day if I don't wash and conditioning I start having to resort to buns and ponytails.