Volume at roots for wavies?

[dezibela]

My 2a/2b/ii/F BSL hair is full or flat depending on the weather. I used to be able to use some styling paste or mousse to get it to have some body at the top, but now that it's longer and I air-dry, the amount of body is a complete crap shoot. Humid days are good and dry, breezy days are bad.

What do you do to ensure body near the scalp? If you use a certain type of product, what's the brand and product name?

Thanks!
Dezi

[diddiedaisy]

My hairs not as long as yours so I don't have the weight issue dragging it down. I think what I would try was lifting it at the roots with yours fingers as it drys. Also, depending on how temperamental your waves are you could also keep putting your head upside down and lifting the roots with your fingers. These both work for me, but I don't have heavy hair.

[dezibela]

Thanks for the quick response! Those things did use to work for me, but now I feel like the more I touch it on certain days, the more it deflates. I think I need to use a product on the roots that doesn't require heat to activate, but I don't know what to use. I have a huge collection of product & none of it is helping lately. I'm praying for rain!

[LadyCelestina]

I turn my head upside down and massage the roots a bit OR gently lift them from time to time while drying

EDIT:Aha,just read the above reply...What about a high bun or pony then letting it loose? Or tease it a bit if the volume is really important. I tried one of those 'volume sprays' ,but they had no effect on me :rolleyes:

[dezibela]

Even when it dries in a high bun (my usual practice), the flatness can still appear. I don't mean to shoot down every suggestion! I really appreciate them all.

[lapushka]

Dry with clippies at your roots, as the curly girl method suggests; like this:
http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/c/c4/Hair-clipping-7315.jpg

[dezibela]

I have not tried that one & I have loads of little clippers! Will try, thank you!

[spidermom]

A top-of-head ponytail braid overnight gives me volume in the mornings. It does tend to get flatter over time, though. Oh well - I usually put it up anyway.

[kdaniels8811]

Dry shampoo - a tiny bit - massaged at my temples gives my hair great volume. Makes it stand right up!

[BrendaLoan]

Dry shampoo - a tiny bit - massaged at my temples gives my hair great volume. Makes it stand right up!

I second this :)

[dezibela]

I haven't tried dry shampoo either, & I have a whole bottle. Adding to my list. Thanks!

[bunzfan]

I second this :)

Yeah it really works :D

[molljo]

You've gotten some wonderful advice so far (dry shampoo, very light scalp/root massage, and clipping at the roots have all worked very well for me). Also just flipping my head upside down, bent at the waist and just scrunching my dry hair with a tiny amount of Panacea on my palms gives me crazy amount of volume.

[LeonineMane]

I like french braiding after washing and letting it loose when it's dry, I get amazing scalp volume with that method :)

[Firefox7275]

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdLbUCP-6QY8me5xA8ZDktZ_Hcctevf0E

[Creagan]

Rain/mist adds a load of volume to my hair, everywhere. I don't know how people here feel about using steam, but I have something called a Q-Redew that I use occasionally. It works really, really well.

[Catatafish]

I use Got2B Powder'ful. Here is somebody reviewing it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ZDPe14rDY

You sprinkle a tiny amount on your roots once your hair is dry, flip your head over and smoosh it, then it gives you a crazy amount of volume. If your hair starts to go flat, just flip your head over and do it again, and it kind of re-activates. I think Batiste make a similar one.

I only use it for special occasions though, as it leaves my hair feeling weird the day after, and I usually only wash my hair every three days. Also, it works best on very clean hair. If you've gone more than a day or two without washing, use dry shampoo instead.

[spirals]

I always rinse my hair upside-down while bent forward at the waist. That gets the roots going up.

[DweamGoiL]

For me, the main thing is to make sure no conditioner goes near my scalp and any heavier styling products are not applied near the roots. I do a light coating of gel mostly along the length and then pin the front of my hair into a half up clipped at the top of my head so the front of the hair poufs out. If it's not pouffy enough, I will pull sections forward to get it as high as possible until it's mostly dry. Usually I wash my hair at night so once it's almost dry, I will pineapple it and sleep with it draped over my pillowcase. In the morning, I have lots of volume after a wash. After that, I will sleep with a top knot bun right on top of my head secured with claw clips. In the morning, that gives me lots of volume.

[lapushka]

Drying it bent at the waist with a blowdryer/diffuser will do nice things for scalp volume as well.

[Syren_Curls]

I second a number of the suggestions you have gotten already. I will add that putting it up high on my head when it's between damp and mostly dry has helped for me, but I no longer like to use hair tie's (even fold over elastic) when I can help it. I've recently started flipping my hair upside down while I am conditioning it in the shower and finger combing it that way. That has really made a big difference in the volume at my scalp, which was *always* a problem for me after APL. At nearly TBL, this has been a bigger improvement than even the clippies. HTH.

[dezibela]

Indeed, I have gotten great suggestions! I already wash my hair that way (upside down), then it gets turbied & then usually bunned high. I tried the clippies the other day & they helped volume but the shape was weird. At this very moment, I'm trying the duck-billed clips after working some curling creme from root to tips. I'll report back!

[spirals]

I just want to say I'm amused by the word "clippies".

[dezibela]

So here's the result: I used Garnier curl creme from root to tip & then used the duck-billed clips as per the Deva videos. I felt like that wasn't enough so I clipped up the whole scalp area with clippies (which, I agree, is an amusing word). Then, for no reason whatsoever, I sprayed the whole shebang with Garnier curling spray gel. Except for the duck-billed clips sticking out, it actually looked cute & I wouldn't be embarrassed to leave the house looking like that, so maybe I found a new 'do.

The result was massive volume. However, I overdid it & the sides ended up wider than I wanted. I'll use this method again but will only clip the top of the hair.

Thanks for the help, everybody! My hair seems to have crossed a line lately & I feel like I'm learning to manage it all over again.