Stringiness... 2a joy

[catoala]

As title says, I have issues with stringiness. I know it's 2a thing, but it annoys me. And I don't know how to fix it.

I brush, it looks nice, sometimes fluffy (I like that so much!) and less than an hour later, it "falls" flat... help? thanks :)

[lapushka]

That's not very much information to go on.
What's your routine like?

If you mean "clumping", that's normal to wavy hair, it does fall in its individual waves. If that's what you mean, it's just what 2a hair does.

[catoala]

That's not very much information to go on.
What's your routine like?

If you mean "clumping", that's normal to wavy hair, it does fall in its individual waves. If that's what you mean, it's just what 2a hair does.

I think it is clumping... Is there anything to do about it or its just that way? :/

[Ylva]

This is a bit of a general question, but what is meant with stringiness when it comes to hair? I never quite figured out.

[Begemot]

I'm not a wavy but my hair clumps and gets stringy when it's dehydrated. The strands stick together pretty much immediately after brushing. They don't get tangled necessarily but they just form stringy clumps instead of being soft and flowy (this is so hard to explain lol).

[lapushka]

I think it is clumping... Is there anything to do about it or its just that way? :/

It is just that way, I'm afraid, if it is clumping of waves. People would kill for that effect of pretty clumped 2a waves. But if you don't like them, you don't like them. I guess you could dry brush as much as possible. Right after the wash when it's dry, and use some hairspray to make the effect stay, perhaps?

[MusicalSpoons]

This is a bit of a general question, but what is meant with stringiness when it comes to hair? I never quite figured out.

I think it's clumping, but often a term used for straighter clumps. I'd call this (https://flic.kr/p/23xc1Bo) stringy, and the straight middle part of this (https://flic.kr/p/2eJPRCs), and this (https://flic.kr/p/2aDCatb), pretty much.

Cataola the only thing I've found to help is to brush out all the texture with a Denman brush, but after a while my hair clumps back together and can look stringy again quite quickly. It was always a frustration for me before LHC because I didn't know about clumping and though it was just my hair being annoying; now I do know and I don't wear my hair down anyway (and only exceedingly rarely in a ponytail) so I no longer care ... I think for you the only thing might be finding the most wave-encouraging routine you can, but for waves without any stringiness you'd probably do best with braidwaves to be honest.

[catoala]

I think it's clumping, but often a term used for straighter clumps. I'd call this (https://flic.kr/p/23xc1Bo) stringy, and the straight middle part of this (https://flic.kr/p/2eJPRCs), and this (https://flic.kr/p/2aDCatb), pretty much.

Cataola the only thing I've found to help is to brush out all the texture with a Denman brush, but after a while my hair clumps back together and can look stringy again quite quickly. It was always a frustration for me before LHC because I didn't know about clumping and though it was just my hair being annoying; now I do know and I don't wear my hair down anyway (and only exceedingly rarely in a ponytail) so I no longer care ... I think for you the only thing might be finding the most wave-encouraging routine you can, but for waves without any stringiness you'd probably do best with braidwaves to be honest.

My hair is almost like that but much much thicker... :/

[The-Young-Maid]

Yeah my hair always clumps. Products don't really matter unless I use way too much then it looks gross. So I do twin braids at night and in the morning I have nice braid waves to brush out. It clumps after a while but I just run my fingers through it. It looks much better clumping together when it has nice uniform braid waves instead of my natural texture.

[lithostoic]

Yep I just try to smooth it with an english braid so it clumps uniformly. I just take out the braid and don't brush it or anything, just let my hair stay in larger defined sections.

[Entangled]

Honestly, the only thing I can do is change texture. Either I braid it, curl it, or blow dry it straight. Otherwise, it’s just a function of hair wavy enough to clump but straight enough to look, well, straightish.

[Groovy Granny]

Feast or famine.....fluff or clumps ;)

Mine has always fluffed; clumps/defined wurls are greatly admired on others but beyond my reach :shrug:

Though braid waves will clump a bit if I have used serum before braiding and just finger comb them out.

The grass is always greener as they say :lol:

Then again....you may find a technique &/or product that works for you; good luck :cheer:

[spidermom]

I agree with braid waves - much more uniform and flow-y, less stringy.

[Tinyponies]

This may or may not be what you’re after, but natural stringy textures are as valid as any other, it is an option to embrace it. I love my straightish clumps just as they are.

[MusicalSpoons]

This may or may not be what you’re after, but natural stringy textures are as valid as any other, it is an option to embrace it. I love my straightish clumps just as they are.

That's a very good point.

I prefer my buns to be smooth but sometimes I do try not combing for a couple of days. I really dislike that it takes longer to detangle if I don't do it regularly, but I sometimes wish I could try a wider spaced comb like this (http://hairsense.com/product/shorter-detangler/) or even this (http://hairsense.com/product/wide-spaced-detangler/) that might leave the texture a bit more intact. I think I'd struggle to embrace straightish clumps if I wore my hair down though, I'm not quite sure why. However for LHC purposes I have no problems sharing 'stringy' pics, especially as they form through airdrying without any attempted any styling. Knowing how the ends go properly wavy I think I'd want the rest of my hair to do that if I tried styling, but we all know hair does what it wants whether we like it or not :lol:

[Entangled]

This is a bit of a general question, but what is meant with stringiness when it comes to hair? I never quite figured out.

I think what is called “curl/wave definition” for the more curly and wavy types is what people with straighter hair call “stringiness.” It’s when hair hangs in clumps but reads “straight,” a bit like when your hair is wet. It can be because of product overload or excessive oil, but for the 1C/2A crowd it’s just a natural function of texture. I know I was told “go brush your hair” or “I just want to run a brush through your hair” when I wore it down as a teenager because of it.

[cjk]

As title says, I have issues with stringiness. I know it's 2a thing, but it annoys me. And I don't know how to fix it.

Language is always so variable. I agree with the others that it sounds as if you're describing clumping, but photographs would help immensely. Please, let us see what you're describing.


I brush, it looks nice, sometimes fluffy (I like that so much!) and less than an hour later, it "falls" flat... help? thanks :)

If your hair is textured it is likely that it is somewhat dry. And dry brushing hair that is already dehydrated can be damaging. My instincts are telling me that your tips may be damaged, we call them velcro tips.

As for falling flat, we curlies "reinforce" our curls with a simple gel while wet. But we are usually trying to make ours look even more clumpy, not less.

I'm going to take a different approach and say, first, focus on hair health. Whatever that means. I went curly-girl and my hair has never been healthier, though as we all do I sometimes love it, hate it, resent it, embrace it, and anything else you can describe.

My suspicion is that, properly moisturized, your texture will become more pronounced and the clumping will increase, but in a way that would be aesthetically pleasing.

Seriously, though. Post some photos. Without them, this is all guess work.

[Positivitea]

What I find helps is to have no layers whatsoever and only have a blunt cut. On top of that, no oils in my hair throughout the day or too much conditioner.

[spidermom]

I remember before I joined LHC, I thought of my natural texture as "messy" and didn't like it at all. After I learned about hair care and bringing out the best of my natural texture, I love it. Sometimes we need to change our attitude, not our hair.

[Messyhair]

I remember before I joined LHC, I thought of my natural texture as "messy" and didn't like it at all. After I learned about hair care and bringing out the best of my natural texture, I love it. Sometimes we need to change our attitude, not our hair.

That's right... all should love me. Me, Messy. :P

[jane_marie]

My hair is almost like that but much much thicker... :/

So my hair is 1c/2a depending on the day so slighty more wurly than you but I have found that when I brush with a boar bristle bush it eliminates the clumping. Personally, I sort of like that part of having a wavier texture so I have stopped using my BBB but if you don't like it it might be an option for you. :)

[littlestarface]

I have it too my hair is very stringy and I can't stand it lol. It doesn't clump like curlies and when I try to make the wurl come out as much as I can it ends up with tons of tangles and matted mess. Now I just am combing it and then leaving it up in a braided bun. Even with the stringy messy clumps one has to comb it everyday or else they start forming these weird tendrils like dreadlocks and its a witch to try and comb that out. Its one of the curses of having slightly wavy hair.