Waves are too soft

Parisfrance137

So I really don't know what my hair wants anymore as it seems to change up on me all the time! My curl pattern is wavy and would be classified as a 2B with some tighter curls at the nape of my neck. My issue is that I can never figure out how to get a good balance of moisture as my hair seems to get so over moisturized, it will go flat and loose definition in a day.

For instance, today I used the Giovanni 50/50 conditioner as a leave-in but it made my hair so soft, some of my "waves" became loose. My hair also looks a bit frizzy, I have a lot of flyways on the sides of my hair. I really don't know how to counteract this because if I don't use leave-in, my hair is too dry

Therese1

Ah, life as a wavy! I have the same problems.

For the curls losing definition, the biggest help I have found is to use a hard-hold gel as a styler. If the weather is humid, you might have to stay away from glycerin and aloe in the hard-hold gel, because those substances absorb moisture from the air and could cause your waves to become overmoisturized and lack definition.

Have you tried different leave-ins other than the Giovanni? I have some that make my hair overmoisturized but others that are lighter. I would recommend using only products labeled specifically as leave-ins (that is, don't use regular conditioners) because "real" leave-ins are generally lighter and might not make your hair so soft.

I have also had good luck recently with sealing my leave-in in with some oil. I have been using two drops of Beautiful Curls Shining Curl Oil, which has shea butter in it. I have noticed that I have a lot more volume and less frizz when using this product as a sealer. When I use it on dry hair, it's a disaster, though--it makes my hair crunchy and greasy. So you could try different oils as sealants over the leave-in. I would start with just a couple of drops.

During the really dry winter months, I have also been putting in a few drops of argan oil at night on my dry hair. It helps keep the hair elastic and moisturized, and by morning, there is no hint of greasiness if I haven't used too much (it absorbs during the night).

I hope some of this works for you!

Parisfrance137

I have only tried ISO Bouncy Cream and Umberto Curl Enhancing Lotion, both which felt too heavy. My biggest issue is that I have low porosity hair so everything stays on the surface and doesn't get properly absorbed. Right now we are in winter so it seems like my hair is getting really, really dry with lots of flyways. After reading a few articles online, people have suggested using humectants so maybe I'll try that as well. They said grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, argan oil, and almond oil work best for low porosity hair.

chupie

Have you tried any mousses?

wavydaze

did you use gel on top of the 50/50?

Not everyone needs a leave-in (all the time). You can try one with protein or skip it all together.

Hard-hold gels can be good for wavies who are having trouble with wave-fallout.

guthak01

I would definitely try to use products with some protein in them.

I have low porosity hair, and it loves protein! I do protein treatments and use gels with protein.

If you are prone to over conditioned hair protein treatments really help to balance this out.