Styling the Wavy-Curly hair

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

Over the last few years, I have learned several different ways to style my hair.
At first, I was doing LOC with Nightblooming salve, oil and gel.
At first my results looked great but then after a little while this method was building up on my hair really fast.
Then i started using oil only then gel, thinking that oil would be enough.
it was weird, some days my hair would look ok then it would just look stringy after a few more styling. even with clarifying.
if i didnt use enough oil, then the gel would be on its own and wouldnt really do much for my hair either.
it didnt occur to me to try an actual leave in cream or a curl cream instead.
then i went to the salon and the stylist showed me what to do.

She told me about something called the "rubber on wet pavement"
the idea is, while youre in the shower, before you have used the towel you put the leave in cream and you squish it in.
youll hear that "squeaky" noise, it sounds like wet rubber, but she said thats the sound i want and what my hair needs.
she suggested i leave a decent amount of water in my hair, because my hair is very dry.
and do not towel dry at all, not even with the micro fiber towel because apparently it is causing my frizz.
dont squeeze all the water out, then apply the gel. do the same thing, squeezing it in until more of the water has been squished out.
Then leave to air dry, and bam. My hair looks SO much better this way.
before in the past i have tried stuff like this, leaving MORE water in my hair
but before i was using oil and no matter what, my hair was really stringy no matter what.
but now i have used the leave in instead and its way better. way way way better.
the stylist used devacurl in my hair, but tonight, i used garnier (cone free leave in) and then a cone free KCKT curling custard.
bam my hair looks amazing, and no different from the more expensive products.

Anyway, did not mean to make this so long:
After finding new ways to style my hair, I am curious if any of you have different ways of styling your wavy/curly hair.
Do you fall more into the CG method?
Do you do LOC like I do? (or some version of it)
Do you do some things different that maybe other wavies/curlies dont know about?
Is there a thing you do thats different that maybe you found on accident that might work for other wavies/curlies?

:)

[Simsy]

Ooh, trial and error...I love this method...

So my routine starts in the shower. Hair is kept over one shoulder and down my front, I do not pile on top of my head (that is the path to PAIN). Shampoo thick on the scalp, wiped down the length; wash off after a brief soaking and maybe a short scalp scrub. If my hair is feeling particularly argumentative, 5-min moisture treatment loaded thickly onto the length over my shoulder and leftovers wiped over my scalp. Leave for 5 mins and rinse out, throughly. Conditioner loaded the same way as the moisture treatment, mostly not the length but I do go a couple of finger loads over the scalp.

*Traditional CG skips the shampoo and goes heavy on the conditioner; I have found I need that shampoo step or my hair just gets painful.

Once out of the shower, I use a muslin cloth just wrapped around the length then wrapped over my head like a crown braid. This gets left on for 30 min to 2 hours; depends on what I’m doing in the meantime. Towels are evil on my frizz and microfibre towels scare me.

I do a modified LOC method, mainly because that’s what I landed in by accident. I have this leave-in mask I found that my hair works quite well with. So I finger comb to get the worst of the tangles out, add the leave-in mask fairly heavily (all over), oil heavily over the top (again, all over), and comb out the resulting birds nest gently. My hair works much better with the heavy oiling after being washed, and the mask gives me a nice boost of happy curls for a few days. I don’t use any other creams, gels or styling creams because the mop protests loudly (in all the ways I can’t ignore, like tangles).

One thing I don’t do, that seems to be fairly common amongst curlies; is coiling the clumps into neat curls after detangling. I have found my hair doesn’t like being coiled or rope braided...actually, the problem might be that my hair loves being rope braided and/or coiled, to the point of forming locs in a matter of hours. I can’t risk having to fight those out every wash day, so I comb my hair out and let it dry as it pleases. If I need to leave the house, I braid and bun it loosely. It won’t dry while it’s up, but it’s not causing me grief either.

As for styling, my hair is happiest when I’m not fiddling. That means I keep my styling to a minimum during the week; yay for lazy wins. If I’m going with a “ignore it all week” style, I’ll braid it back in 2 braids (usually Dutch or English) and pin the braids up into a crown braid or bun. If I’m more interested in playing with hair toys for the week, it goes into a braid every night and a bun every morning (may or may not be braided). If I’m styling every day or so, the mop gets combed and oiled heavily every 3-4 style.

After a couple of years of experience back when I was in high school, I have found my hair is violently against being wet if washing is not involved. It’s not too bad with rain or sweat, providing it’s not soaked. But if swimming is involved; or god forbid, I stick my head under the shower; it’s getting washed that afternoon or the next morning because holy cow, it is a nightmare to deal with. I have not been brave enough to try oiling after swimming, mostly because I do not have the time to handle the fallout. I don’t sleep on wet hair anymore either, bloody fussy mop objecting to all the cheat methods.

Cheap shampoos and conditioners are bad, the mop dries up like straw. Expensive shampoos and conditioners are also out; lanky, panicking and tangled like crazy. Straight down the middle of the cost road works remarkably well, providing I switch what sort I’m using every few months. So I might buy the moisture-rich stuff for a few weeks, then switch to a colour-protection variety for a while. Anything with Argan oil works so well, it’s almost insulting. Jojoba oil doesn’t work, no idea why. Cheap oils like olive and coconut don’t work; my hair has ridiculously expensive tastes.

Heat tools are not out completely, but they are rendered largely pointless. The top is straight-ish these days unless I have braided at some point. The length goes kinda straight, good enough for me; and the ends bob into little ringlets and vertical curls if I attempt to straighten them. The whole process can take at least a couple of hours, and I’m not going to wear my hair down for more than a couple of hours once I’m finished. I have used a straighting brush which worked reasonably well and much faster, but I still had little curls on the end that refused to come out. Once the straightened mop is been in and out of buns a couple of times, I’m down to more of a gentle wave; which I can get by bunning for a week without heat.

Curlers, heartless or heated, are completely pointless. My hair will hold a decent curl for about 2-3 hours. Then they all head south into the usual curly ends. I also have issues removing curlers without taking a fair amount of hair off with them. Also, I’m not leaving my hair out for more than a few hours; and once it’s gone into buns, I lose the effect anyway. Some arguments I just don’t bother having.

My hair hates hair ties anywhere but the ends of braids; ok, I can agree with it on that. It eats the little plastic ones so I stick with small normal ones. It prefers wooden hair ties with minimal paint or staining; again, ok, I can handle that. I buy hair sticks and forks with interesting carvings and wood grains instead. No cutouts because curls like getting around those. No intricate dangly bits :sad:, because curls, again. Probably a good thing I prefer plainer hair toys; but I couldn’t tell you if that was personal or practical peferance. The mop approves of acrylic and metal, so win for variety. Bobby pins get eaten or spat out if I’m not careful about placement. Bun pins and straight pins are spat out regardless; possibly user error.

I have given up on curls after day 2, and I’m happier for it. Much less stress and effort being wasted. I don’t wear my hair loose unless it’s drying, because it complains with tangles and drying out. Once I figured out how to keep the mop happy-ish, it became a lot more forgiving on the occasional late wash or night braid left in for a few days. I have stretched washing an entire week extra more than once; and providing I oil and comb a couple of times, the mop doesn’t object badly because of it.

Keyword for curlys, “happy-ish”. Happy-ish hair will still play nice if you’re doing almost everything it wants you to. Let it have the major wins, and it will forgive the occasional misstep or delay on your part.

Ooh, and moisture; I have never seen a curly that wouldn’t benefit from extra moisture here and there.

[lapushka]

I don't use the wet seaweed technique (wet when washed then putting product in), I find it worked better on my permed hair (so with more texture to it).

I just do the LOC/LCO method. Works fine, continues to do fine for me. And of course the rinse-out oil (all my methods are in my signature). If you want more info on something, just give us a peep. ;) :)

I would be on the lookout for new things if some things were no longer working, but it's fine so far. Clarifying weekly while washing does a *lot* for me, I find.

[nycelle]

It's summer, and just too hot and humid for me to putz around with my hair too much.

My routine this summer is very basic.
1. Shampoo and condition, deep condition, or recently I cowashed.
2. Put hair in a microfiber towel.
3. Use leave-in conditioner on damp hair, then detangle with a WTC, and let air dry.

No other product. It's been drying wavy enough for me.

I am sulfate, and silicone free, so that bit falls into CG. Am also currently protein free.
Other than that though, I don't use all the products that get recommended, it's just too much work for me right now. Maybe in the winter.

[Kelikea]

When do you comb it? I usually shampoo and condition, then wet comb it before getting out of the shower. Then, I apply the leave in cream and comb it through, put it all in a turbie twist. If I don't use the turbie, it drips everywhere and takes forever to dry. If I'm not going to work, when I take it out of the turbie, it dries fully on its own and generally looks pretty good. But if I have to go to work, I feel it needs to be combed again and sort of "fixed" or styled with some mousse or something.

[Groovy Granny]

Before stepping out of the shower I detangle with my Vented Wet Brush, then put it in a turban towel for 15 min while I dry off and dress.

After I remove the turban towel I apply a pea size amount of conditioner to my ends followed by 4-6 drops of oil; then I pass the Vented Wet Brush through again.

I then do a quick warm/cool diffuse dry of my scalp, apply a squirt of Biosilk Lite Serum to the damp/drying ends, and pass the Vented Wet Brush for the last time.

I clip the top layer/fringe in a small claw clip, scrunch my hair, then let it finish air drying.

[lapushka]

Before stepping out of the shower I detangle with my Vented Wet Brush, then put it in a turban towel for 15 min while I dry off and dress.

After I remove the turban towel I apply a pea size amount of conditioner to my ends followed by 4-6 drops of oil; then I pass the Vented Wet Brush through again.

I then do a quick warm/cool diffuse dry of my scalp, apply a squirt of Biosilk Lite Serum to the damp/drying ends, and pass the Vented Wet Brush for the last time.

I clip the top layer/fringe in a small claw clip, scrunch my hair, then let it finish air drying.

Passing the brush through again at this point... doesn't that cause frizz?

I don't brush mine all through the washing process, just brush it when it comes out the towel, then I scrunch in my stylers and let air dry for 2-4H, after which I just have to use the diffuser on it for 5 min. and: done!

[MoonRabbit]

When I used to put gel in my hair I would always apply it as soon as I got out of the shower while my hair was dripping wet. I would scrunch it in for a good few minutes and let it dry over night while clipped up. When I woke up I would rescrunch to break the gel up. It really did make my hair super soft because it trapped in all the water my hair was missing.

I'm happy to hear you have found a new routine that works for you.

[Groovy Granny]

Passing the brush through again at this point... doesn't that cause frizz?


Nope....it works for me with ZERO FRIZZ....probably because I do a final scrunch after applying the serum, then I let it air dry :eyebrows:


YMMV :flower:

[Arciela]

I cowash and then put another conditioner from the ears down..after that I put deva curl one conditioner as a leave in when its soaking wet and I'm in the shower. Then I do a little squish to condish and it comes out pretty nice :)

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

When do you comb it? I usually shampoo and condition, then wet comb it before getting out of the shower. Then, I apply the leave in cream and comb it through, put it all in a turbie twist. If I don't use the turbie, it drips everywhere and takes forever to dry. If I'm not going to work, when I take it out of the turbie, it dries fully on its own and generally looks pretty good. But if I have to go to work, I feel it needs to be combed again and sort of "fixed" or styled with some mousse or something.

Im a bad girl, I dont comb my hair at all lol

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I cowash and then put another conditioner from the ears down..after that I put deva curl one conditioner as a leave in when its soaking wet and I'm in the shower. Then I do a little squish to condish and it comes out pretty nice :)

Oh nice! Is the conditioner light? I have a full bottle of it I havent used yet and I wouldnt mind substituting my leave in with it!

[mindwiped]

I have super super fine hair, so all this is what works for me, YMMV. I tend to shampoo once or twice a week, I know when it's time by the feel. Most times I scalp shampoo only, unless there's build on my length. I've started using Mane and Tail conditioner, every time my hair gets wet.

When I'm drying, I started to use a cotton tea towel, the flour sack type. I don't turban, I put in my leave ins, then put it on, like a veil. I switch up my leave in products, if I'm drying while awake I'll use curl cremes, but I wear CPAP, so the head gear messes up any curl if I bathe before bed. I always use a leave in detangler, I really like Shea Moisture. My hair is fine with or without cones, so I have a ton of other products that I choose based on knowing my hair and what it wants... my needs maybe completely wrong for the next wurley. Forgot to put in there, I use a brush before bathing only, I detangle with a wide tooth comb, and that's all I'll use besides hands when wet.

My hair personally detests heat. I cannot remember the last time I used a curling iron or dryer on it. All either do for me is make it frizzy and cause it to break.

[Panthera]

I haven't found the perfect routine or products, I have an endless battle against frizz. The curly girl method seems to work best but I rarely use any oils as a leave-in, my hair just doesn't like oils. So basically I add a generous amount of leave-in conditioner and gel/cream to a soaking wet hair and scrunch with fingers and microfiber towel. Sometimes I diffuse my hair on low heat but air drying is much better. I don't use products with silicones or sulfates but I clarify using sulfate shampoo every now and then. Oh and usually I comb my hair just before I wash it and detangle with fingers in the shower. For some reason my hair gets really tangled when it's wet. I wash my hair twice a week, one co-wash and one shampoo wash.

I'm doing something wrong, my hair is always frizzy and it just doesn't stay curly. When it's soaking wet after shower, I have these really nice tight spiral curls but when my hair dries they just.. uncurl into s-shaped waves. :(

[lapushka]

Nope....it works for me with ZERO FRIZZ....probably because I do a final scrunch after applying the serum, then I let it air dry :eyebrows:

Well as long as it works for you! It wouldn't for me, though. :D :lol: Which is why I asked and was so curious.


YMMV :flower:

Absolutely! :flower:

[SallySue]

Having recently dived into proactively researching and experimenting with what works for my wavy/curly hair, I am loving this thread! To the OP, the method you described sounds similar to what I've seen referred to on other sites as the "super soaker method." Beyond adding moisture, the main thing for me that makes it work so well is to maintain the natural curl in the largest clumps possible. I condition upside down, squish in leave-in conditioner and gel, being careful not to break the hair up into any more than about 7 clumps. Then, I plop in a microfiber turban for a bit. Once I take the turban out I clip the roots and air dry. I tend to add (smooth, not rake) more product when it's about half dry, since the first time the gel was diluted by the water and also didn't make it to each piece. Finally, once fully dry, I scrunch out the gel cast and fluff the roots. I love the curl definition I get this way. The only problem I have with the super soaker method is that it increases my drying time by a lot. Like, several hours.

A second method that is my old tried and true. If I don't have 7 hours to sit around with stringy wet curls, I will just smooth a leave-in product into detangled wet hair, twist a few sections, fix my part, and go. Without all that extra water and gel, my hair will be dry in 2 hours! The only danger here is that if I don't know the product I am using *very* well, I could risk being a frizzy mess.

By the way. Does anyone have any recommendations for a silicone-free mousse?

[spidermom]

The new hair care routine sounds pretty interesting; I might give it a go myself. Last week I was in a hurry to go somewhere, so I showered and dilute-shampooed my hair, rinsed, then hopped out of the shower, got dressed, and left. It was a hot day so my wet hair dripping all over me didn't bother me at all. I was so surprised that with no conditioner and leave-in products or styling of any kind, my hair looked the best that it's looked in a long time. It dried with waves and a few ringlets but no frizz at all. No manipulation techniques definitely agree with my hair!

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

The new hair care routine sounds pretty interesting; I might give it a go myself. Last week I was in a hurry to go somewhere, so I showered and dilute-shampooed my hair, rinsed, then hopped out of the shower, got dressed, and left. It was a hot day so my wet hair dripping all over me didn't bother me at all. I was so surprised that with no conditioner and leave-in products or styling of any kind, my hair looked the best that it's looked in a long time. It dried with waves and a few ringlets but no frizz at all. No manipulation techniques definitely agree with my hair!

I’ve found less is more for me product wise.
I started living more minimally and it really made a difference in how my hair looked.

[Kelikea]

Having recently dived into proactively researching and experimenting with what works for my wavy/curly hair, I am loving this thread! To the OP, the method you described sounds similar to what I've seen referred to on other sites as the "super soaker method." Beyond adding moisture, the main thing for me that makes it work so well is to maintain the natural curl in the largest clumps possible. I condition upside down, squish in leave-in conditioner and gel, being careful not to break the hair up into any more than about 7 clumps. Then, I plop in a microfiber turban for a bit. Once I take the turban out I clip the roots and air dry. I tend to add (smooth, not rake) more product when it's about half dry, since the first time the gel was diluted by the water and also didn't make it to each piece. Finally, once fully dry, I scrunch out the gel cast and fluff the roots. I love the curl definition I get this way. The only problem I have with the super soaker method is that it increases my drying time by a lot. Like, several hours.

A second method that is my old tried and true. If I don't have 7 hours to sit around with stringy wet curls, I will just smooth a leave-in product into detangled wet hair, twist a few sections, fix my part, and go. Without all that extra water and gel, my hair will be dry in 2 hours! The only danger here is that if I don't know the product I am using *very* well, I could risk being a frizzy mess.

By the way. Does anyone have any recommendations for a silicone-free mousse?

Have you tried any of the "Not Your Mother's" Naturals? I have 2 hair creams and their Blue Sea kale & pure Coconut Water Weightless Mousse. It feels more like foam(not really thick and creamy, more airy), but it does have some hold to it.

[SallySue]

Have you tried any of the "Not Your Mother's" Naturals? I have 2 hair creams and their Blue Sea kale & pure Coconut Water Weightless Mousse. It feels more like foam(not really thick and creamy, more airy), but it does have some hold to it.

Not yet! Thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to check that out.

[poli]

Thank you for this informative thread. Lately I have been reading and watching about styling wavy hair for the days I want to have some beach look and wear my hair down. The flax seed gel is working for me pretty well. But just recently I grasped what the "scrunch the crunch" is ;) and how you supposed to do it when it's completely dry.
I also got the light hold curl cream to try the wet application method. Experimenting :stirpot:

[spidermom]

I tried this method to the best of my understanding the day before yesterday. The first day my hair looked so limp and stringy that I braided it. Now my braid waves are lovely and shiny but a little more frizzy than I'd prefer.

[pili]

I just went back to CG and you can see the results in my avatar pic. I use super cheap products (Tresumme Botanique and L.A. Looks sports gel) . I do the dripping wet hair in the shower too for application while squishing it in. My hair is super coarse so I do use a lot of it. Then I actually use a turbo twist microfiber towel to plop for an hour and then air dry. This keeps my hair from dripping all over my clothes right after the shower. My hair will take all day to dry before I scrunch out the crunch, but the curls last for four or five days. I sleep with it down and just drape it over a satin pillowcase that has no pillow and is just draped over the bed. I cannot use a pillow or put my hair in a pineapple without compromising my neck. If my scalp needs cleansing, I use a shampoo bar and ACV and then proceed with the CG method, but that is not necessary every wash. All other times I am CO with the TB diluted (for distribution) and I use a tangle teaser while it's in to detangle wet and give my scalp a good exfoliation, then rinse CG. In the morning I refresh with water and a little bit of condish. That's it.

[ReadingRenee]

I just went back to CG and you can see the results in my avatar pic. I use super cheap products (Tresumme Botanique and L.A. Looks sports gel) . I do the dripping wet hair in the shower too for application while squishing it in. My hair is super coarse so I do use a lot of it. Then I actually use a turbo twist microfiber towel to plop for an hour and then air dry. This keeps my hair from dripping all over my clothes right after the shower. My hair will take all day to dry before I scrunch out the crunch, but the curls last for four or five days. I sleep with it down and just drape it over a satin pillowcase that has no pillow and is just draped over the bed. I cannot use a pillow or put my hair in a pineapple without compromising my neck. If my scalp needs cleansing, I use a shampoo bar and ACV and then proceed with the CG method, but that is not necessary every wash. All other times I am CO with the TB diluted (for distribution) and I use a tangle teaser while it's in to detangle wet and give my scalp a good exfoliation, then rinse CG. In the morning I refresh with water and a little bit of condish. That's it.

Pili your hair is GORGEOUS in your avatar pic. Wow! it's looking so good.

I do a similar method to yours. I have actually used botanique but I am back to suave coconut right now. I did use LA sports looks but I found that Bella works a little better for me.

Anyway, that is what I do. CO wash, scrunch in gel while my hair is dripping wet in the shower, and then scrunch excess moisture out with a t shirt and clip just the front roots up. With short hair my hair dries in a few hours. Then to scrunch the crunch I just put my fingers in the roots of my hair and shake them all over my whole scalp. This releases the gel without frizz happening. I have to say though, this method is working better for me with shorter hair. It may be that i just needed more gel when I had longer hair.

[pili]

Thank you ReadingRenee!

[Panthera]

Has someone here had problems with kinky curly curling custard? I think it's drying my hair. I like to pre-poo with jojoba oil every now and then, maybe it's the combination of kccc and jojoba oil?

[Kaoria]

Has someone here had problems with kinky curly curling custard? I think it's drying my hair. I like to pre-poo with jojoba oil every now and then, maybe it's the combination of kccc and jojoba oil?
How much are you using? You’re supposed to basically stick a few fingers in the jar and just use whatever sticks to your hand. Like, teensy amounts. Less if definitely more with this one.

[olivetime]

Great thread. It's summer here and hot, the last two times I "washed" my hair was just sticking my head under the hose while watering my garden and letting it drip dry. My waves and a few ringlets are looking good. Also my hair isn't long yet, but still it's cool to see how wet hair just left alone makes for awesome waves.

[poli]

For styling straight hair with CG type products and methods so far the best seems to be just using one product. In my case silicone free curl cream works the best. Scrunched into dripping wet hair , plopped and diffused. This gives me some volume and stretch out waves that 2a wavies naturally get. I choose silicone free but use sulfates. The sulfate free products usually contain Cocamidopropyl Betaine and this ingredient seems to irritate my scalp.

[ontheway]

I personally like brushing my hair (gently) before washing, on wash days. I find for some reason I like this better than brushing it wet. I still believe brushing wet hair is damaging, and my hair isn't curly enough for me to justify it. As long as my ends are not super dry, it's also OK. But if my ends are especially dry that day, I'll do the gently comb through in the shower while I have conditioner in. But my goal is always to have hair that is moisturized enough so that it doesn't get to that point.

This is the #1 thing that helps it dry nicely after I shower. Using some form of conditioner on the ends is important too, but a very small amount. I either use it in the shower use a leave-in. My whole routine is simple but thorough.

[poli]

I wanted to put this picture here as a conclusion to my experiments. This turned out pretty interesting I think. I like the "messy" effect :)
I used very light styling products, but I've read that for straight hair/weaker wave you actually need to use "strong hold", what do you think?
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=35540&d=1550394606

[Begemot]

I haven't read the whole thread yet but your hair looks great poli! Pretty waves :)

[lapushka]

poli, it looks nice. I use about a medium to strong hold and it is great for me.

[poli]

Thank you :) I like to have "bigger" hair from time to time. After putting it in two buns I now have lovely bun waves so that's also a plus of having stylers in the hair.