Curly to Wavy Hair

[Daydreamer.]

Hi, I have small curls (3c). I like the look of wavy hair. I was wondering if there are any heat-free ways to make curly hair look like wavy hair? Thanks!

[lapushka]

Putting it in a braid out or twist out after washing, with enough moisturizing products. The tutorials are out there on YT.

[chen bao jun]

Lapushka's suggestion might work, depending on your hairtype, which there is more to than curl size. You must already know that your hair will stretch with braiding or twisting, maybe enough to appear to be waves rather than curls.

Some questions to consider: Are you high or low shrinkage? Do your curls stay stretched when you have braided them or easily shrink back up? ( A good way to tell this, do you need to apply a lot of product such as curl enhancer or gel to your hair to wear a wash n go? If so, your hair probably shrinks a lot). Does your hair get curlier or more limp with proper moisture? ( Hair that is more limp will appear to be wavy more easily that hair that has a lot of curly 'spring', which with moisture will tighten up) Are you a silky 3 c or a cottony 3c? (Silky hair will look as if its wavy when stretched, cottony hair, probably not without some more manipulation). These are all things to consider as you figure out if your particular hair will look wavy when stretched with braids (or with twists or with threading, or some other method, the 'dubi' comes to mind also).

Essentially what you are trying to do is heat-free straightening, though not to the point where your hair is straight, you want to leave some of the texture. You can do a google or youtube search keeping in mind that that is what you are looking for. You should find some hints and methods and you can try them out and see if one of them will work for you. You can also ask a question about this kind of straightening either in the type 3 hair or type 4 hair threads on LHC. Explain that you are not interested in a texturizer so that you don't get that suggestion.

Hope this helps and hope you find a non-destructive way to get the look you want.

[curiouskitty]

I have 2b-2c hair. Once I finish washing my hair, conditioning it and then oiling it, I pat my hair with a cotton t-shirt, and then gently blow-dry my hair on the cool setting to about 70% dry (I find that my hair has been in much better condition since I've started adding this step). Then I flip my hair upside down, and (again, gently) brush my hair away from the nape of my neck, smoothing it as best as I can. I then twist it (not too tight) into a bun on the top of my head, securing it with my plastic hair sticks. During the next few days, I oil the ends of my hair when I get up in the morning, then brush through it, then put it in the same bun again. By the 3rd day, I can usually let it down and let the curls loosen into bigger waves.

Unless I go through with this routine, my naturally curly hair usually gets extremely frizzy and tangled, no matter how I treat it. Then again, whether this will work for you will depend on your hair type as well. But the trick is oiling, twisting, brushing out and twisting again. I do warn though, this method means 2-3 days of keeping your hair up in a twist (I wash my hair every 8-10 days, so this is not that much of a problem for me).

[curiouskitty]

Eeep, I'm sorry, I just noticed you said you have 3c hair (I thought it said 3a). My advice might not be of much use :(

[Hairkay]

Hmm maybe a wash and set with big curlers will work.

[lapushka]

Hmm maybe a wash and set with big curlers will work.

Yes, or with curlformers, if the hair isn't too too long yet - because those things can only handle a certain amount of length.

[chen bao jun]

Eeep, I'm sorry, I just noticed you said you have 3c hair (I thought it said 3a). My advice might not be of much use :(

Actually curiouskitty, this method might work for the OP if she has a similar hairtype to mine (not just the curl size, otherwise similar also). this is what my grandmother and some of my aunts did to loosen their curls. You have to use a very good brush though and it has to be boar bristle. They used Mason Pearson.

I don't do it because I don't want to have waves, I love my curls and like them to really spiral as much as possible. So my problem has always been to stop my hair from loosening and my curls from lengthening out and vanishing, not vice versa.

I should warn however (this may not be the case with you, curiouskitty, because you are 2b/2c)--this method is very, VERY time consuming if you have type 3 hair, maybe not 3a but 3b/3c. You really have to be committed to it, because not only does it take days for you to get your hair looser, but it takes a lot of work and patience to essentially drag the curls out with the brush. It can also be painful. (It made my dad's scalp hurt so much that as soon as he left his mother's house he never allowed a brush near his head again). Also, someone with tighter curls may not (I would say, would probably not) be able to wear their hair treated in this way loose very much, especially not in a humid type climate or other humidity (dance floor, etc). Because the hair is being manipulated A LOT (even though not with heat) and taken very far away from what it is naturally, it easily curls right back up after all that work. M y grandmother and my aunts wore updoes or braids most of the time to avoid the hair 'reverting'. But of course this may not matter to a person on LHC who may be wearing updoes for hair protection anyway.

Oh, I forgot one very important thing. My dad's family has coarse hair, super coarse. A person with fine hair should probably NOT use this method. I would think it would destroy the hair--definitely create lots and lots of split ends, anyway.

Of course, you have modified the method somewhat with a blow dryer, which they did not have access to, so the brushing may be less intense because of that. I know your brushing is not intense, curiouskitty (you said 'gentle brushing'), but the brushing can't be all that gentle if you are making 3c hair look like 2b, just by the nature of things.

Only one of my younger relatives has the patience for this. (and she has beautiful hair). Everyone else who wants waves instead of curls has gone to chemicals and/or heat, because of the sheer inconvenience, even though the switch to chemicals and heat (as well as sulphate shampoo and other 'products') has meant that a group of women whose mothers and grandmothers all had waist to tailbone length hair now barely have shoulder length.

[chen bao jun]

Yes, or with curlformers, if the hair isn't too too long yet - because those things can only handle a certain amount of length.

This is probably the OP's best bet. Youtube is full of videos on it, too.

I think Hairkay's suggestion of large rollers won't work well because it is likely to straighten the hair too much. Not give a wavy appearance. Every time I have had a roller set done anyway, I got straight hair when I took the rollers off, albeit very coarse looking straight hair, obviously not naturally straight. Of course I also always used a heated cap dryer (becasue otherwise I'd be in giant uncomfortable rollers the size of orange juice cans for days instead of merely hours and hours.)

[CurlyCap]

A good thread for ideas:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=85483

It's been my experience that 3" rollers will leave waves if you let them air dry. It takes forever, but is worth it if it's the look you want. Once your hair is past BSL, it generally is too much labor though. Unless you have a minion of some sort.

[Daydreamer.]

Putting it in a braid out or twist out after washing, with enough moisturizing products. The tutorials are out there on YT. I've tried YT. They mostly have tutorials for straight to wavy hair...

[Daydreamer.]

Lapushka's suggestion might work, depending on your hairtype, which there is more to than curl size. You must already know that your hair will stretch with braiding or twisting, maybe enough to appear to be waves rather than curls. Some questions to consider: Are you high or low shrinkage? Do your curls stay stretched when you have braided them or easily shrink back up? ( A good way to tell this, do you need to apply a lot of product such as curl enhancer or gel to your hair to wear a wash n go? If so, your hair probably shrinks a lot). Does your hair get curlier or more limp with proper moisture? ( Hair that is more limp will appear to be wavy more easily that hair that has a lot of curly 'spring', which with moisture will tighten up) Are you a silky 3 c or a cottony 3c? (Silky hair will look as if its wavy when stretched, cottony hair, probably not without some more manipulation). These are all things to consider as you figure out if your particular hair will look wavy when stretched with braids (or with twists or with threading, or some other method, the 'dubi' comes to mind also). Essentially what you are trying to do is heat-free straightening, though not to the point where your hair is straight, you want to leave some of the texture. You can do a google or youtube search keeping in mind that that is what you are looking for. You should find some hints and methods and you can try them out and see if one of them will work for you. You can also ask a question about this kind of straightening either in the type 3 hair or type 4 hair threads on LHC. Explain that you are not interested in a texturizer so that you don't get that suggestion. Hope this helps and hope you find a non-destructive way to get the look you want. I haven't taken the different aspects of my hair into consideration...I'll try answering your questions as best as I can. I think I have mostly medium shrinkage and low shrinkage in some areas. They tend to stay stretched when braided with no products. I think it gets curlier with moisture. Most curls are cottony, but some are silky. Your second paragraph mentions what I'm looking for. I just want the curls a little looser without heat and without too much labor. BTW, What's a dubi?

[Daydreamer.]

Eeep, I'm sorry, I just noticed you said you have 3c hair (I thought it said 3a). My advice might not be of much use :( It's ok. Maybe it will be helpful to someone else.

[Daydreamer.]

A good thread for ideas: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=85483 It's been my experience that 3" rollers will leave waves if you let them air dry. It takes forever, but is worth it if it's the look you want. Once your hair is past BSL, it generally is too much labor though. Unless you have a minion of some sort. Ha ha, I was actually looking for something a little easier. I'll check out your link, though.

[lapushka]

I've tried YT. They mostly have tutorials for straight to wavy hair...

Are you looking for the right channels? Looking up girls that have your curl pattern. Because I can name a few. Hold on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/xlovedivine
https://www.youtube.com/user/summer0892
https://www.youtube.com/user/MoKnowsHair
https://www.youtube.com/user/Naptural85 (type 4), but she's got some great tutorials

And also, if you just type in your curl type into YT, you'll get a lot of great results to investigate!

[LongCurlyTress]

Great thread topic! Not sure if this was mentioned yet but an old fashioned no heat method is to wrap your hair, only I do this using a lwb bun with damp detangled hair. Just take down the hair as it dries, and use your Tangle Teezer or a BBB brush through it with a tiny drop of evoo, a dime sized amount, bun again etc. until your hair dries. This allows the hair to dry wavier and I do this almost everyday. My profile pic is about how straight it gets, even though I am a spiral curlygirl 3b. Please feel free to check out my albums on lhc for curly/wavy photos for comparison. ;) good luck!

Rollers of any kind just get all tangled in my hair during the take down, especially at the length I am at now, so I can only use the above method, but it does work for me. Anytime curly hair is straightened it will probably get frizzy eventually, which is the nature of curly hair, unless you use a very hot straightener and spray on your hair which I won't do. Also, humid weather also creates alot of frizz. On those days, I just leave it up in a lwb or nautilus and forgetaboutit. ;) Good luck!

ETA Curlers are just too much darned work for me! ;):p

[lapushka]

I just found this curly doing a roller set; might come in useful!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lrh9IeRRDY

[Daydreamer.]

Great thread topic! Not sure if this was mentioned yet but an old fashioned no heat method is to wrap your hair, only I do this using a lwb bun with damp detangled hair. Just take down the hair as it dries, and use your Tangle Teezer or a BBB brush through it with a tiny drop of evoo, a dime sized amount, bun again etc. until your hair dries. This allows the hair to dry wavier and I do this almost everyday. My profile pic is about how straight it gets, even though I am a spiral curlygirl 3b. Please feel free to check out my albums on lhc for curly/wavy photos for comparison. ;) good luck! Rollers of any kind just get all tangled in my hair during the take down, especially at the length I am at now, so I can only use the above method, but it does work for me. Anytime curly hair is straightened it will probably get frizzy eventually, which is the nature of curly hair, unless you use a very hot straightener and spray on your hair which I won't do. Also, humid weather also creates alot of frizz. On those days, I just leave it up in a lwb or nautilus and forgetaboutit. ;) Good luck! ETA Curlers are just too much darned work for me! ;):p What is a lwb bun?

[lapushka]

What is a lwb bun?

Lazy wrap bun.

[chen bao jun]

I think Lapushka's original suggestion of stretching by braiding may well work for the OP, given the further information about her hair.
I'd check out the youtube channels.
I think that would work better than a dubi or doobie, which is wrapping the hair around the head as if it were a giant roller.
Roller setting will probably straighen your hair so that it doesn't look curly or wavy, but just straight, especially with heat.

[Elizabeth E]

When I leave my hair to dry naturally, it curls unevenly with almost straight sections at the front and corkscrews near the back. So when it's 90% dry, I put it in a loose braid and go to bed with it. The next day: perfect waves!
But I also think that putting it in a bun should help you.

[AutobotsAttack]

Hmm maybe a wash and set with big curlers will work.

I was going to say thing. I agree.

Rollers would be good to stretch the curls nicely.