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Chestnuthenna
September 17th, 2012, 05:19 PM
Hi! I was wondering if anybody had any tips for making my hair look great down without any heat styling. I've got thick neither straight nor curly hair and I'm finding that wearing it in a bun or French twist means it is a crazily huge chaotic bouffy mess when I let it down. It's only shoulder to APL (I think the problem will go when it gets longer). I've started a Mr. Bottle to try misting and finger styling. Ideally I want it to look super shiny with the ends curling up or under (or something other than looking like a row of paint brushes). I seriously can't be sectioning hair into pin curls (that would take up my entire life), or going to bed with weird things on my head (DH just won't get it). But there must be some sort of up do that looks sensible enough to wear outside the house yet creates a great style when you let it down. What do you do when you want your hair to look super nice and shiny down? Any tips?

Hollyfire3
September 17th, 2012, 05:42 PM
it really depends ont he look you want. For soft waves, a french braid may be good, or maybe a sock bun, fully rolled, if you have the length (it doesn't need much). Maybe look into hair wrappigng (basically wrapping all of your hair aroudn your head so it is straighter) if you want a sleeker look.

longNred
September 17th, 2012, 06:43 PM
A rolled sock bun, definitely. I often wear one to work all day when I know I'm going out later that evening. Take it down, shake it, and boom - looks like I spent hours doing it.

Chestnuthenna
September 18th, 2012, 12:33 AM
Oh, sock buns sound worth a go! I'll try that. AFter I posted this morning I tried rolling up two coils of hair and sticking a woolly hat on while I worked. It came out nice and bouncy at the ends. I'll look up hair wrapping, thanks!

melusine963
September 18th, 2012, 02:34 AM
Braid waves can look nice, expecially if you don't mind going to bed (or to work) with your hair damp.

ETA: I'm not sure about looking sensible outside the house, but check out Phalaenopsis' tutorial for heatless waves using parandi braids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFjxuuVh80A&feature=plcp

Chestnuthenna
September 18th, 2012, 03:55 AM
Thanks Melusine - braid waves look fantastic on most people but seem to make the paint brush effect worse on me - all the straight ends stick out in different directions! When my hair is longer it'll probably work.
I just spent a hilarious half hour with my daughter trying to follow the instructions for hair wrapping with a scarf. I tied up my ears, my nose, my forehead, half choked myself and seemed to end up with hair sticking out everywhere! Finally we sacrificed a very nice cashmere and silk pashmina to the cause and more or less cracked it. Here is what we did:
Leaning over I brushed all my hair foreward. I brought two corners of one end of the scarf together and tied it around the forehead (tried tying at the nape of the neck but inevitably caught bits of hair - ouch!) The length of the scarf lay on top of the length of my hair, still hanging upside down toward the floor. I folded the scarf around the hair, grasped the end of the scarf with the hair inside and wrapped it to one side of my head toward the back, then began turning the whole scarf around my head to wrap the hair. I kept turning and pretty soon I had created something looking like a sikh turban. I tucked the end under and that was that (apart from my children falling about in hysterics at the sight of me). An hour later I let my hair down (washed this morning, now pretty much dry) and surprisingly it looked quite good - definitely presentable and tamed if not drop dead gorgeous. I'm going to try it again with damp hair. Even my fringe (bangs) looked good - I thought they might end sticking up in all directions. So I'd recommend hair wrapping, particularly with a friend helping - it's worth it just for the laughter!

MORE
September 18th, 2012, 04:01 AM
This makes my hair sooo soft and silky, and gives it smooth waves - I love it:

After I wash it I and while almost dry, I take a medium-small part of the hair and gently twist it around my finger. I twist them so that the motion is away from the head (think Farrah Fawcett). Then repeat and repeat and repeat. I then move on to a new section, leaving the first one twisted. I repeat this until my whole head is in twisted sections. Often I twist some more because I really find it relaxing:) When I'm done i gently fingercomb to separate the twists into soft waves.

This is not a quick fix, it takes some time, but I usually do it while watching a movie/reading/being on LHC (:D) etc.

If I do want a quick fix I put it up in a bun when it's almost dry after a wash. I just twist it into a ponytail which I "twist" around itself if that makes sense. I then let it down when it's "time" and va-va-voom!

Chestnuthenna
September 18th, 2012, 07:31 PM
That sounds good although I'm not sure I'm patient enough for the twisting all over! Last night I tried the sock bun as a top knot while I slept and let it out this morning: huge big volume hair with bouncy ends. So far the wrapping seems to do the same thing as blowdrying without the damage (smooth, tamed hair) and the sock bun achieves big curls. Fantastic! I think the braids and twists are probably great for longer or less coarse hair - unfortunately mine just doesn't do the soft wavy tendrils thing :(

Pearly~91
September 18th, 2012, 07:54 PM
... braid waves look fantastic on most people but seem to make the paint brush effect worse on me - all the straight ends stick out in different directions! ...
If you really like the idea of braid waves but it's just the straight ends stopping you, one thing that you can try to combat the straight ends is curling the end of the braid with a soft roller of some kind. I'm not sure if having a rag roller on the end of a braid counts as too weird to wear to bed tho... Just an idea that I've heard mentioned before in reference to braid waves, thought I'd point it out. :)

(I haven't been able to actually try this, I can't braid my hair for braid waves yet...)

longNred
September 18th, 2012, 07:58 PM
Thanks Melusine - braid waves look fantastic on most people but seem to make the paint brush effect worse on me - all the straight ends stick out in different directions! When my hair is longer it'll probably work.
I just spent a hilarious half hour with my daughter trying to follow the instructions for hair wrapping with a scarf. I tied up my ears, my nose, my forehead, half choked myself and seemed to end up with hair sticking out everywhere! Finally we sacrificed a very nice cashmere and silk pashmina to the cause and more or less cracked it. Here is what we did:
Leaning over I brushed all my hair foreward. I brought two corners of one end of the scarf together and tied it around the forehead (tried tying at the nape of the neck but inevitably caught bits of hair - ouch!) The length of the scarf lay on top of the length of my hair, still hanging upside down toward the floor. I folded the scarf around the hair, grasped the end of the scarf with the hair inside and wrapped it to one side of my head toward the back, then began turning the whole scarf around my head to wrap the hair. I kept turning and pretty soon I had created something looking like a sikh turban. I tucked the end under and that was that (apart from my children falling about in hysterics at the sight of me). An hour later I let my hair down (washed this morning, now pretty much dry) and surprisingly it looked quite good - definitely presentable and tamed if not drop dead gorgeous. I'm going to try it again with damp hair. Even my fringe (bangs) looked good - I thought they might end sticking up in all directions. So I'd recommend hair wrapping, particularly with a friend helping - it's worth it just for the laughter!

Baahaahaaaaa! I want photos of this hysterical process!

spirals
September 18th, 2012, 11:25 PM
Braid waves come out better--even the ends--if you do rope braids. Just put the elastic as far down to the end as you possibly can, leaving as little tassel as possible. I have sausage curls naturally, but on non-wash day I mostly have right-angles. :lol: So I sometimes wear two rope braids to work (casual workplace) and when I take them down they are a looser version of my natural curls.

Chestnuthenna
September 20th, 2012, 05:21 AM
Right, I'll have to look up rope braids.
Sorry about the lack of photos, I haven't got a licence to drive this thing yet. I'll get there eventually, apologies.
I was think a nape of the neck bun would made better curls, but I've not had much luck with them yet.
Thanks for all the ideas!

ApatheticFairy
September 20th, 2012, 06:22 AM
Headband curls
(http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=99822)

Try this yet?

Chestnuthenna
September 25th, 2012, 03:22 PM
That's a great link ApatheticFairy, thanks. I'll give it a go when I've got a couple of hours up my sleeve! Don't those curls look fantastic!
At the moment I'm being really boring and just using a long silk scarf to tie a low ponytail wrapping it around a few times to cover a wide area before tying a bow.

TheMechaGinger
September 25th, 2012, 03:25 PM
Well when you rinse the shampoo from your scalp doesn't it kinda run down your ends anyway? It just seems like a waste to me and potentially over-washing for your ends

ETA: Haha! I was just reading another thread in a different tab and thought I was responding to that one, so sorry that this makes absolutely no sense as a response. Oops!

DinaAG
September 25th, 2012, 03:28 PM
i would go for a french twist :)

jacqueline101
September 25th, 2012, 03:30 PM
I agree braid waves are good for wearing hair down.

hufflepug
September 25th, 2012, 03:38 PM
I second the recommendation of headband curls! I love what they do to my hair.

Ambystoma
September 25th, 2012, 06:28 PM
Thanks Pearly~91 and spirals for the advice on braid ends, this is always what stops me from wearing braidwaves even though I so covet that pre raphelite look, I'll try both these suggestions out (I just learned how to rope braid yesterday - I'm a little challenged :laugh: )

Oh, and I'm going to cast my vote for rag curls, if you do big ones it takes 5 minutes at night and 1 minute in the morning and you get that Victoria's Secret style blowout look, especially if you do them high up on the crown for lots of root lift.

Chestnuthenna
September 26th, 2012, 06:08 AM
Don't think my hair does pre-Raphaelite Ambystoma - more shaggy mop I suspect!
Today I bought one of those foam-covered-wire bun makers in a cheap imports shop. It works a treat for an air-hostess style bun at the nape of the neck and once unwrapped makes huge curls like a 60s housewife - just like Gena Rowlands in a Cassavetes movie if you can picture that. Definitely worked on my has thick, coarse, shoulder to APL hair. It feels soft and there is nothing to snag, no hair elastics or pins. Wish I had a corporate job to justify the look. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/images/smilies/wink.gif