Enhancing waves in not quite wavy hair?

[aforestfae]

My hair is fairly straight but there is this odd wave to it, when it's wet or oiled it's much more wavy but it doesn't last long, as soon as I brush my hair I can't get those wavy curly bits back, but if I don't comb it it's tangled and all the loose hair I didn't remove through combing after is stuck and makes my hair look like it's shedding like crazy.
Is that just the way hair goes when it's wet or is there a way to keep the waves?
Is there a better way of getting more natural waves/curls on 1b/c hair?

[eva888]

Have you tried braid waves?

[velorutionista]

I think we have similar hair types, and I've recently discovered if I use a good bit of leave in after I wash, when day 3 or 4 hair rolls around, I can dampen my hair (pretty damp, but not dripping), braid it, sleep on it (or let it sit till dry), and then take down really good braid waves that last all day (even with a quick wide toothed comb-thru to pull out sheds). I've tried the same with buns, but it doesn't get very wavy (maybe if I tried splitting it into a couple smaller buns to dry, but I haven't tried that yet).

Something about the magical combo of day 3+ dirty hair, leave in conditioner, and overnight braiding just works out really well for me. But that's about the only way I get waves to hang around.

[Madora]

Eva888 is right on target. Braid waves are easy to do and look very pretty. You can vary the "spring-I-ness" of the waves by how loosely you braid.

As far as trying to keep the slightest bit of wave you find in your hair, that is problematic. What you could do is lightly spritz your hair with water, then coil the hair all the way down to the ends, and hold it there for a while, then release it and see what your hair looks like.

For a more permanent solution, do the rag curl thingie as outlined in Torrin Paige's video tutorial on rag curls. Pretty easy peasy but you will need a long length of cloth/fabric to do the style properly.

And always, detangle hair gently before trying these methods!

If you don't want the tightness of rag curls, then try finding the largest diameter FOAM curler you can locate and then put your hair up in them overnight. You can use tiny elastic bands to hold the curler in place while you are sleeping.

The more hair you put in the curler, the looser the wave will be. Also might take longer to dry if you wet it too much.
Smaller portions of hair will mean bouncier curls, if that is what you are after.

[Alexa]

My hair is also just slightly wavy, and tends to lose curl as it dries. After washing my hair, I detangle, put on a small amount of very light gel, and scrunch it to encourage the waves. Then I try not to touch it at all while it dries. The gel initially gets a little crunchy, which holds the waves in place, but by the time my hair is fully dry, the gel has softened and there is no crunch left. Many curlies never use a brush, but once it is dry, I do need to brush and detangle occasionally. I think that's because my hair is in between straight and curly: I need to borrow methods from both sides.

[battles]

I found that shampoo bars + diluted vinegar rinses really enhanced my waves. I don't use them anymore, but I loved how it made my hair look.

[eva888]

Here's how I do my braidwaves - I wait until my hair dries and then spritz it damp with a little bit of water. Then I put it in two dutch braids and leave it in for an hour. The waves look really natural when I take it out. My sig pic has braidwaves like this done. Otherwise my hair curls/waves in an uneven way and it's kind of hard to deal with!

[Kapri]

I am so glad to find this thread. I am the same with 1/2 a hair. Would you ever contemplate a Deva cut? Or if not what sorts of cuts do you have. My hair is super fine and I have it in a shoulder length one length blunt cut at the moment.