Natural care for wavy hair?

[Eas693]

So as I continue on my hair journey I have discovered my hair is quite wavy and only getting wavier as it grows. It's currently somewhere between my chin and shoulders and I think too short to properly type. But I never really knew it had any kind of wave. Thing is I do all natural hair care now: shampoo bars from CV, argon oil, and homemade hair mask every now and the . When I asked my friends and family about keeping my waves looking nice throughout the day they all said use mousse and a hair diffuser. I've never used either. Do diffusers damage hair? How do you use them? Is there such thing as natural mousse? My waves like start to flatten around 3-4pm or get super frizzy and it's not cute lol. I'll take any and all advice you ladies have. Sorry if it's super basic. I tried looking things up on the site but my cell phone isn't cooperating.

[Dark40]

No, I don't think there is a such thing as natural mousse. I also have wavy and curly hair too! And, as it is getting longer it is getting more wavier than curly. What I do for frizziness is using styling leave-in creams for humid weather, and I condition my hair a lot. That helps me to take my frizz. I also keep it moisturized with hair lotions as well.

[Adelain]

Hi! You can look into the Curly Girl method that was inventend to enhance wavy and curly hair patterns. According to cgm you should avoid harsh sulfate shampoo and cones, use leave-in and gel and some styling techniques to get frizz free hair. You can google "curly girl method for wavy hair" or look for wavy hair routines on youtube to learn some tips.

I have wavy hair and I air dry or diffuse on cold (not damaging). I don't use mousse because it dries my hair out, instead I use leave in conditioner with a bit of gel.

[lapushka]

When I asked my friends and family about keeping my waves looking nice throughout the day they all said use mousse and a hair diffuser. I've never used either. Do diffusers damage hair? How do you use them? Is there such thing as natural mousse? My waves like start to flatten around 3-4pm or get super frizzy and it's not cute lol. I'll take any and all advice you ladies have. Sorry if it's super basic. I tried looking things up on the site but my cell phone isn't cooperating.

I use a modified "curly girl method". Look that up on the net, plenty of hits. I would also recommend you get the book by Lorraine Massey on wavy/curly hair; it is an eye-opener. Even if you continue to wash with shampoo (bars), it's fine. I continue to wash with sulfates, so I call mine a modified CG.

I also do the LOC/LCO method, which is part of CG. (all in my signature) It consists of styling in layers. I personally wouldn't use mousse to hold the wavy hair, I much rather like a tiny bit of curling cream or gel. The thing is you don't need a lot of these products, just a tiny pea size will probably do for your length.

The terms can be a little confusing right now, but it will become clear the more you read.

[Eas693]

Thank you girls so much I just spent my afternoon so far reading all about the CG method and it looks like I have some things to try! I'm so very excited

[pili]

I also have wavy/curly hair and I also use CV bars. I don't use conditioner, I just use some avocado and sweet almond oil to seal in moisture after washing and then I don't touch it! Just let it air dry. I don't use conditioner either.

[Ophidian]

I am a wavy and the best things I've found for defining my waves are t-shirt plopping after I wash (plopping is part of CG I think), then sealing with a small amount of oil and damp braiding when almost dry OR letting it dry as is without touching it. There are certainly styling products that emphasize natural ingredients, but if mousse is too heavy for you, you might like to try something like aloe or flax gel (possibly as a part of an LOC routine like Lapushka mentioned).

[spidermom]

The most natural thing I can think of that you can use to help define the waves and tame the frizz is aloe vera gel, the clear kind sold for skin care, not the green kind sold for sunburn care. It works best for me if I wet my hands first, then rub a dollop of the gel between them. Then I finger comb through my hair and finish by running my palms down the surface of my hair. Your hair will stay in place as long as you avoid the wind and combing it.

[Siv]

I think waves that flatten and/or frizz just a few hours after washing is a fairly common 1c/2a problem. There's a thread for us on here: the 1c/2a hair (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=54163) thread. CG doesn't work for me, neither does mousses, creams, gels etc. They all help, but it only delays the problem by a few hours. I tend to comb my hair straight when it's damp, unless I'm styling it for a special event. But, even 1c/2a hair can react very differently :) have a look around this ^ thread too, if you need more inspiration!

[meteor]

If you need something totally natural for hold, you could use aloe vera gel (preferably direct from the plant but be careful around fibrous areas). I find it a bit wasteful from plant's perspective, so I actually prefer standard gel.

Plus, there is flaxseed gel, which is quite popular for definition and a bit of hold (and if you make a lot, you can freeze some batches).
Here's a pretty good video on how to DIY it, and you can play with water : flaxseeds ratios to get stronger/lighter hold - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWaH8GIbLrM

You can also add a *tiny* sprinkling of gelatin to your DIY mixture as it's cooking for even better hold, but that can easily be too much hold for lightly wavy hair.

I know some people really like okra gel, might be worth checking out ;)

To be honest, sometimes you can get away with a simple leave-in or rinse-out conditioner for a bit of hold and frizz-control during diffusing or damp-setting, when it can work like a setting lotion. Layer it with a bit of oil/serum for shine, and that can be more than enough with wavy hair.