"sleek" hair.

[catoala]

my question is how to have it. sleek, shiny, moistruized probably.. I have little waves, so my hair is drier than straight hair.

The hair I'm describing is like this:

https://www.hairstraightenerstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/Straight-Shiny-Hair.jpg

I understand this is an ad and lots of photoshopping but there are people I see a few times with hair like this...Just! how?

[AutobotsAttack]

It’s dependent on your hair color, and hair texture.

Not having sleek hair doesn’t mean it isn’t well kept/maintained, or not well moisturized. If you have waves sometimes the texture will not deflect light as well as someone with straighter hair. That’s not a bad thing though.

If you want shine, BBB brushes are pretty good at distribution of products or sebum. Certain serums can do the trick, deep conditioning, oils, etc. sleek buns or ponytails are also a good way to get that shiny effect.

But if your hair naturally curls or has waves, it’s not guaranteed to always be be shiny.

[catoala]

It’s dependent on your hair color, and hair texture.

Not having sleek hair doesn’t mean it isn’t well kept/maintained, or not well moisturized. If you have waves sometimes the texture will not deflect light as well as someone with straighter hair. That’s not a bad thing though.

If you want shine, BBB brushes are pretty good at distribution of products or sebum. Certain serums can do the trick, deep conditioning, oils, etc. sleek buns or ponytails are also a good way to get that shiny effect.

But if your hair naturally curls or has waves, it’s not guaranteed to always be be shiny.

I don't have issues with shine, it is extremely shiny unbrushed too. It's just that "sleek" look to it: very smooth and "oily looking but... not ugly oily.. if that makes sense haha. :hmm:

[nycelle]

If you're wavy, even a little bit.. you'll have to straighten it somehow, then add a silicone serum. That's how I used to get my hair to look like that as a wavy. Blow dry, then silicone serum.

[queencarrion]

Another wavy here. I haven't been able to achieve that look ~naturally~, but only with the use of silicone serums/leave-ins, blow-drying, and straightening (like 10+ years ago). I searched Youtube high and low for tutorials about sleek hair over the past few months as well because being poofy is frustrating and all of the tutorials used piles of silicone products and heat styling...

[Panthera]

I don't think wavy hair can be like that without straightening it. You could try to blow dry it with a brush, use a round brush and blow dry your hair as you pull the brush trough your hair to the ends. Finish with a flat iron if you want and have one. Heat styling will cause damage though so be careful. Brush drying with a cooler setting isn't as bad as straightening using a flat iron but I personally wouldn't do that either.

[TreesOfEternity]

My hair is almost pin straight and won’t do that, just because there are always shorter hairs that will stand up unless you heat style or I don’t know, moisturize, oil and put a satin scarf for hours to make it lie flat. And even doing that it won’t last long that way if worn down.

So flat ironing and serums is the only option I think.

[Decoy24601]

I can get my hair to look "sleek" if you count it not being pin-straight :wink:, but with oil and cones. I find that if I braid my hair and wet it, the braid waves the next morning look more sleek than my natural texture, since it's more uniform. But part of this is likely due to my colour, which naturally has a lot of shine.

Edit: But it's still not nearly as sleek as in that picture.

[nycelle]

My hair is almost pin straight and won’t do that, just because there are always shorter hairs that will stand up unless you heat style or I don’t know, moisturize, oil and put a satin scarf for hours to make it lie flat. And even doing that it won’t last long that way if worn down.

So flat ironing and serums is the only option I think.

My mother's 1a hair looks like that but definitely not as shiny. All she needs is a serum though and she gets that hair. For whatever reason, even though hair is gonna be different lengths from growth, hers sit flat on top of each other. She only has them stick out when it's very dry - static electricity.

[Deborah]

Unless your hair is straight and naturally sleek and shiny, you probably won't be able to make it look that way without damage.

[TreesOfEternity]

My mother's 1a hair looks like that but definitely not as shiny. All she needs is a serum though and she gets that hair. For whatever reason, even though hair is gonna be different lengths from growth, hers sit flat on top of each other. She only has them stick out when it's very dry - static electricity.

Wish I had her hair :heartbeat I will never know why mine does that it drives me crazy...

[lapushka]

I don't have issues with shine, it is extremely shiny unbrushed too. It's just that "sleek" look to it: very smooth and "oily looking but... not ugly oily.. if that makes sense haha. :hmm:

Do you have a picture of your hair. It is extremely hard to discuss something we can't see. After all there are some who underestimate their texture, and some who overestimate. It really really depends.

If you're not 1a, you can quite forget about that sleek look, for sure, especially in rain, mist, whathaveyou.

[AutobotsAttack]

I don't have issues with shine, it is extremely shiny unbrushed too. It's just that "sleek" look to it: very smooth and "oily looking but... not ugly oily.. if that makes sense haha. :hmm:

Then why did you say “sleek, shiny, moisturized probably..” if you don’t have problems with lack of shine, then just use product and some sort of hair brush/comb to sleek or brush it down/back.

[Kat]

My hair is straight, but it will never be sleek. That is just not the way my hair is. Sometimes it's as simple as that.

[yahirwaO.o]

I can get a fairly sleek smooth result without heat. Wrapping overnight with a silk scarf does give my hair a super shiny smooth result, still i get awkward bends not stick straight hair.
I agree the easiest and most effective way of archiving this type of look is with a nice flat iron and the most coney serum in the universe you could ever find. :cool:

[lapushka]

My hair is straight, but it will never be sleek. That is just not the way my hair is. Sometimes it's as simple as that.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "sleek" here. Does it lack shine? Because you can solve that with a bit of oil (a few drops = enough).

[catoala]

Do you have a picture of your hair. It is extremely hard to discuss something we can't see. After all there are some who underestimate their texture, and some who overestimate. It really really depends.

If you're not 1a, you can quite forget about that sleek look, for sure, especially in rain, mist, whathaveyou.

No, no picture of my hair. But I figured it out.

[lapushka]

No, no picture of my hair. But I figured it out.

Really? :) What's your solution?

[Dark40]

If you have a slight wave to your hair it's harder to get it to have that shine and sleekiness as to if it was pin straight. If you want sleek hair you would definitely have to straighten it and use some type of deep moisturizing conditioner to get it to shine the way you want it to.

[Poi.Lily]

My hair is naturally very straight, but it's not quite like the picture, unless I smooth some oil over it (just a bit).
Or when my hair starts to get naturally oily and brushing it through.

I don't have any wave to my hair, only slightly flips at the very end.

[milosmomma]

With enough slippy coney products and brushing while drying I can get close to that straightness and sleekness. My hair has good shine but I can get the most out of it with a cool water rinse and acv.

[Kat]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "sleek" here. Does it lack shine? Because you can solve that with a bit of oil (a few drops = enough).

No, I mean it doesn't all stick together in one smooth curtain. My hair tends to stringiness, and I also wouldn't be able to keep down the flyaways if my life depended on it (without spraying or oiling them into oblivion, which also wouldn't look nice).

Even if I perfectly comb my hair, it will not look this smooth. And I can sit perfectly still and ten minutes later it will be stringy again, and probably somewhat tangly. I *might* be able to slick my hair back into some sort of sleek style, but again, after half an hour of sitting still I'll have pieces pulling out everywhere. It is just the way my hair is, has always been.

And achieving anything near this look on my hair doesn't look sleek and smooth; my hair will simply look flat and thin (if left down) or slicked back to my head and I look bald (if pulled back).

[littlestarface]

Yeah I seen girls I real life with this kind of hair. I call it being born lucky.

[Liz_H]

My hair was almost like that 20 years ago. I didn't use anything except shampoo and conditioner, that's just the way it was, only not quite as shiny. I loved how it felt satiny smooth to the touch. Sure was hard to curl though!

[CosmoCat]

My hair has waves, but is fine and silky without damage. The shine isn’t what it used to be, but a bit. I just struggle to keep it that way. I’ve on and off tried over the years, but the best it gets is the fresh growth on top and the back stays in decent condition. I wish that I knew the secret to keeping it so nice, but I don’t and it’s frustrating!

Edit: Here is an example of my half sister's hair...pretty sleek. Maybe it's genetics? Although, like I said, mine is frustrating (damages easily) and my other half sister has occasional alopecia. I have a form of it too...thinning on top.
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=37395&d=1561202782

[EdG]

My hair is sleek for about 10 minutes after I dampen and comb it. Then, the hair dries out and goes back to being its normal self. Gotta take that "sleek" photo quickly. :lol:
Ed

[GrowingGlory]

For the past few weeks I have been trying Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine products. My hair is a little bit wavy but I think that it is getting sleeker looking and that it feels more smooth.

[MusicalSpoons]

Sleekness is about uniformity, hairs laying in line with each other and the ends not poking out through the lengths. Wavy hair, curly hair, straight hair all theoretically can be sleek IF in each clump the hairs are aligned. I've seen wavy hair on here that really looks sleek, and often if braidwaves work well for someone they will look sleek. Curly hair it seems is harder to make look sleek because of its tendency to frizz (but so is a lot of straight and wavy hair too :shrug:) but it can be done.

My frizz is a mixture of hairs that individually are curly, straight, or wonky (with the occasional regularly wavy hair in there ... not many! More growing in now than in previous years though) which cause frizz because they don't lie side by side. They just don't, and many of the ends of hairs throughout the length, especially the curly ones, poke out. I don't think I've ever had sleek-looking hair, even oiled the individual curly ends frizz out of a braid or bun; many years ago in my adolescence I did straighten my hair a couple of times (persuaded by my sister or a friend) but it didn't stay like that for many minutes :lol: I don't think it looked particularly sleek then anyway! But in photos with a flash it definitely looks shiny, despite not being sleek.

[Cg]

My hair was almost like that 20 years ago. I didn't use anything except shampoo and conditioner, that's just the way it was, only not quite as shiny. I loved how it felt satiny smooth to the touch. Sure was hard to curl though!

At least you could get yours to curl.

[Wendyclaire]

Not very many people have hair like that. There were a couple of girls I used to know that had shiny hair sort of like that. Mostly it’s hollywood hype.

[tisa]

For hair like that they have probably used a lot of products and a straightening iron. Sure some people have hair like that naturally but I have rarely seen natural hair like that. It's probably styled for that one photo but going out with hair like that it will get messy and tangled afterwards and get lots of flyaways.

[CosmoCat]

If I flip my hair over my head, the underside is super smooth and absolute silk...love it! However, the top layer is wavy and rough (white dots, breakage). I would give almost anything to know what I’m doing to ruin it. It can’t be nutrition related if the new and under growth is nice. It’s no wonder that I have such conflicting feelings between cutting and growing it!

[zmirina]

My hair is pin straight, but to make it look like this I need to get a professional blowdry. Any waves would need to be eliminated with flatiron, I'm sure

[Lady Stardust]

If I flip my hair over my head, the underside is super smooth and absolute silk...love it! However, the top layer is wavy and rough (white dots, breakage). I would give almost anything to know what I’m doing to ruin it. It can’t be nutrition related if the new and under growth is nice. It’s no wonder that I have such conflicting feelings between cutting and growing it!

The top layer bears the brunt of the weather, heating, air conditioning, whatever else it has to deal with. You could try a bit of extra babying for the top layer, and cover it with a scarf when you’re outside, when possible. Do you use a silk or stain pillowcase, or sleep cap? I use a silk scarf over my pillow and it makes a huge difference.

[GrowlingCupcake]

I second hair wrapping.

Glitch has like 2a/b (or was it 2b/2c?) hair naturally but with wrapping, her hair has that sleek, straight look: https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=132074

[lunasea]

I third wrapping it! If you have any trouble keeping the silk scarf on while you sleep try one of these (https://wrapunzel.com/store/no-slip-headband/).

[CosmoCat]

Good point and advice...thanks, all.

I will be buying some silk bonnets or scarves and pillowcases. The satin cap I have now is too snug and rubs in the back, so I only wore it a couple nights.