A question for wavies and curlies

[Kiraela]

I'm trying to keep my natural waves, but every time I put my hair in an updo, it ends up taking the waves from that, instead (or worse, the kinks, bends and wonky twists from it!).

Does this happen to everyone? Does your hair spring back to its natural texture when you let it loose? What can I do to get my natural wavies back?
I still don't know what kind of waves I've got. Sometimes they'e 2a, sometimes they're 2c. I've heard that if you leave the wave pattern alone for a couple of weeks, it will show up better - how do I do that and still keep it up and protected?

Thankies very much!

[Dars]

Yeah that happens to me every time. That's why I only wear my hair down on wash days. I find it helpful because I will always wear it up. I've read some members will do their preferred wash method as needed (some everyday), WO in between washes to refresh hair, making up a spray to spritz and refresh hair (water, conditioner, aloe, etc.)

[taliarose]

My natural waves tend to change on a daily basis. This is when left down. Usually by the next day any residual from updo's is gone though. I've never really thought about it much since I tend to have a lot of braid waves in the spring and fall...

[Curlsgirl]

I found that to be true more when my hair was shorter for some reason. It's not as curly as it is when leaving it down but still nice enough to wear down. I don't get the weird kinks like some people say they do. Perhaps you could mist and/or wear looser updos? Or you could braid if you like braid waves. It may also depend on how curly your hair is in the first place.

[esmay]

Try spritzing a little water to soften the crazy bits down, hth!

[mira-chan]

My hair takes the shape of the hairstyle waves so either bun or braid waves after I put it up. It hates misting so no bringing the same waves back.

[Kiraela]

I do like braid waves, so most of my updos these days are braid based.. I will try looser updos, but they usually drive me nuts and pull.

I will take the suggestion of misting - my hair takes 4-5 hours to dry, so getting it really wet every day isn't feasable.

My natural hair is usually around 2b/2c when wet, but it almost always dries to a fluffed out frizzy 2a/2b. I wish I could keep the spirals I get wet, when dry... I've tried aloe gel, that does nothing at all. Next, I am going to try oil/aloe mixed to at the very least, kill the frizz. Maybe I'll be comfortable enough to start liking it?

[Euphony]

I have that problem too. My hair ranges anywhere from 1c to 2c, depending. On wash day many times I will let it dry down and wear it down the rest of the day. Fortunately I work in an office that nobody cares, I swear I could come to work in my pink car slippers and no one would say a thing.

I've read that spritzing it with water helps bring the wave/curl back...my hair is just too thick for this to work very well for me. I have to spritz and spritz and turn it over, spritz more, go to the side spritz...you get the picture. By the time I'm done if my hair isn't soaked then it'll just look messy wavy, instead of nice wavy.

WO does work, but I actually only wash my hair every 3 to 4 days not to avoid mechanical manipulation or stripping it or whatever like most people around here do. I avoid washing it because it takes 8 hours to dry and my skirt/pants get wet in the drying process - so it's a bit aggravating.

So all this rattling says - I make sure to wash my hair or WO in the morning if I'm going out that evening and want to wear my hair down. Any other time I figure out some type of nice updo and sometimes I'll do some accent braids and loop them around my head/updo.

[liseling]

My curls get messed up when I put my hair up too - I'm not really sure how to prevent this, but I can somewhat fix it by getting my hands wet with a little drop of conditioner mixed with water, flipping my hair upside down, and wiping my wet hands evenly through my hair. Then wet hands again and repeat till the hair looks ok.

[redcelticcurls]

Oh yeah. If I wear my hair up, I can't wear it down again unless I get it wet.

[ReddishRocks]

My curls get messed up when I put my hair up too - I'm not really sure how to prevent this, but I can somewhat fix it by getting my hands wet with a little drop of conditioner mixed with water, flipping my hair upside down, and wiping my wet hands evenly through my hair. Then wet hands again and repeat till the hair looks ok.

I do something similar to refresh my hair. My leave-in conditioner has a lot of water already in it, so I emulsify it on my hands and scrunch it in. It's never like it originally was, but it's better!

I think it also helps if your hair is very well moisturized to begin with - the leave-in has an easier time helping the waves perk up again! That said, I also use gel, which I'm sure has something to do with it. HTH!

[Kiraela]

I do something similar to refresh my hair. My leave-in conditioner has a lot of water already in it, so I emulsify it on my hands and scrunch it in. It's never like it originally was, but it's better!

I think it also helps if your hair is very well moisturized to begin with - the leave-in has an easier time helping the waves perk up again! That said, I also use gel, which I'm sure has something to do with it. HTH!


I will try that, too - although I am already fighting unhappy, dry hair, so that's probably part of the problem. I think I've got a solution to the dry hair, though, so I hopefully won't have that problem, soon.

So it seems that this is indeed something that most, if not all wavies, wurlies, and curlies have to deal with? Ok, good. (well, bad, but you know what I mean.) I thought I just needed to rename myself 'the official village idiot of both Measuringtown and Hairville.', haha!

[Cherry_Sprinkle]

Yes, this happens to me every time.. but if I roll it wet into a cinnamon bun and leave it to dry it will dry nearly straight with a few waves from the bun and without the frizz, so if I want straight hair, this is my new drying method :)

[Kiraela]

Wow - my hair would still be wet two days later! :(

[mugglemomof3]

Girl - my wave pattern's not the same from wet day to wet day. I say "wet" instead of "wash" because alot of the times I don't even CO - I just wet it in the shower to re-activate the "curl". I do have some curls (and they are quite kinky) but the most part of my hair is wavy, and updo's change the wave pattern or flatten it altogether.

I think alot of us like me call ourselves "wurly" instead of wavy or curly do to all the changes our hair goes through on a weekly basis. Mine definitely has a mind of it's own.

[swanns]

This happens to me as well, which is why I've resolved to do something most wurly LCHer's wouldn't approve of: when my hair dries, I brush the curls out as well as I can and then make the updo. I never really wear it down in public anyway, if I did I might try to maintain the curls a little better. It's a shame, but I simply cannot make an updo look good if I leave my hair curly - the hair at the front is very curly and looks silly when up.

[Kiraela]

Swanns: That's the main reason that mine ends up combed out and flattened, too! I hate the look of a lumpy updo on myself, so I've got to comb it out nice and smooth before I can put it up.

[Honey39]

If I wear it up when it's damp and take it down at the right time, I get nice enough bun waves, but otherwise, nope.

What I do is to either CO-wash my hair every day or soak it with water from about the ears down and scrunch dry with paper towels to revive the curl. I actually get nicer second day curls sometimes doing this, and using AVG to stroke down the canopy...

[Eden Iris]

Yes! I lose the waves as soon as I put my hair up and don't get them back until I wash. Braiding is especially bad -- if you think about waves in physics, when you put two waves together that are out of phase, you get...static. A mess. And so forth.

[RancheroTheBee]

Mine usually die out if I try to put it up, or mess it around. Extra conditioning helps it spring back into the wave pattern, as does taking a hot
bath. I find that if I lightly oil my hair and then take a bath, the oil prevents the humidity from making it really frizzy, but it starts curling up again.

ETA: Except your hair is past TB, and so, maybe the bath wouldn't work. Okay, I'm going to go with misting it with water and extra conditioning, then. :)

[Kiraela]

I might try it anyway, Ranchero. At the very least, it's another excuse for a long hot bath! :)

[Chanterelle]

I'm naturally wavy and my hair always springs back to waves/curls whatever I do to it, even if I straighten it with a blowdryer.

[Pixna]

My hair takes the shape of the hairstyle waves so either bun or braid waves after I put it up. It hates misting so no bringing the same waves back.

Yes, that's the same for me. A hairdresser once told me that wavy hair changes its pattern every week or so (and maybe every day or so for some of us!). So we wurlies just have to go with the wurl, wherever it takes us. My hair has a mind of its own, and there's no point in fighting it anymore. :)

[swanns]

Swanns: That's the main reason that mine ends up combed out and flattened, too! I hate the look of a lumpy updo on myself, so I've got to comb it out nice and smooth before I can put it up.

Ooh, I'm glad to find someone else who does this as well! I had this momentary bout of craziness and decided to leave it curly and put it up for a photo I took for my student card - bad idea :o I look like I have an afro (nothing wrong with afros, but an afro on me is all kinds of wrong).

[Elphie]

My hair takes on the shape of whatever updo I had it in, but after I let it down, it tends to get more wavy, not less. It may have something to do with the high humidity in NY. It's normally pretty bad but this last month has been something else.

[zen_oven]

I get this too. If I wear it up, to get my usual texture back I have to either wash it or spritz the crap out of it with some distilled water. Spritzing usually does the trick if it's not a wash day, though my waves and curls won't be defined.

[curls2grow]

My hair looks like shizzle (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=292&pictureid=40936) when I take it out of a bun. I just know that if I bun it during the day, it's got to be bunned all day unless I am going to rewet it, which I hate doing. I envy those who get beautiful bun waves, but my hair doesn't seem to want to work that way. One day I may try doing a braided bun to see if that helps improve the shiz, but I'm not counting on it. :(

[Spike]

Yes, that's the same for me. A hairdresser once told me that wavy hair changes its pattern every week or so

And I thought it was just me who couldn't make up her mind.

I remember being a little girl who adored braids--kept my hair from tangling--but my mother did not like braid waves AT ALL so I'd have to wash my hair the next day (ick), or keep it braided all week (but I want options!).

[amandasmith911]

I have the same problem. I'm a spritzer too. I keep a water bottle with a squirt of my regular condish, Tbps of glycerine and a few drops of essential oil.

Amanda

[darkwaves]

Oh yeah. If I wear my hair up, I can't wear it down again unless I get it wet. Yep. What redcelticcurls said! (Or, if I do wear it down, most of the curl is gone, and what's left is off-balance.)

[JKRBeloved]

Same for me. If I wear my hair in any sort of updo, I have to completely re-wet it to wear it down. But I have finally learned to embrace this. Since I've been washing with conditioner only (CO), I don't mind washing it nearly every day so I can have my fun wurlies every day. And I often have days where I will finger comb it with quite a bit of water and some leave-in or coconut oil and rescrunch to freshen the look once or more later in the day.

[Debra83]

I'm trying to send a pic of my braid waves and how different it looks from my wurlies, but the stupid pic won't go from my cell phone to my email yet. I've sent it twice. arrrgghh. :justy::taz:

I'll try first thing in the morning for sure. Hopefully, it is through by then.

I have no idea how to get it from braid waves back to wurlies without soaking down the hair and putting a leave in again. Misting for sure won't be enough for me. It changes it completely.

I wore it in two braids today because our Annual Stampede is next weekend, and we're allowed to wear western wear all week to work, so I had a cowboy hat, western wear, and two braid waves!!! I got compliments from the bus, work, and the store after work! I LOVE days like that! Wish I could bottle them for the blah days!

[Cassi]

If I don't have the time for a CO wash I spritz with a mixture of rose water and glycerin (3 parts to 1 part) to bring my curls back. It works pretty well. If I am at work and frizzing out, I just wet it down. I basically wash my hands and instead of getting paper towels I use my hair LOL. If I need to "straighten" my hair I braid it. My straight haired friends think I am nuts.

[Debra83]

I'm trying to send a pic of my braid waves and how different it looks from my wurlies, but the stupid pic won't go from my cell phone to my email yet. I've sent it twice. arrrgghh. :justy::taz:

I'll try first thing in the morning for sure. Hopefully, it is through by then.

I have no idea how to get it from braid waves back to wurlies without soaking down the hair and putting a leave in again. Misting for sure won't be enough for me. It changes it completely.



I wore it in two braids today because our Annual Stampede is next weekend, and we're allowed to wear western wear all week to work, so I had a cowboy hat, western wear, and two braid waves!!! I got compliments from the bus, work, and the store after work! I LOVE days like that! Wish I could bottle them for the blah days!

Okay, I finally could do it. See how different?

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?pictureid=42629&albumid=2126&dl=1245742430&thumb=1

[JamieLeigh]

I've noticed this too. My hair has always been very impressionable...it holds shape well. Which was nice when I was younger and using heat products - curls would stay in forever. The more I mess with it, like finger-combing, the straighter it gets, although it is very wavy and I even get spirals at the ends straight out of the shower, air-dried. Some of us are just like that, I guess. :)

[Kiraela]

debra83, I can definately see the difference. Before I started taking good care of my hair, the way it waved naturally was identical to braid waves. Now, though, it is somewhat different.

JamieLeigh: I had such pretty waves when it dried yesterday, until I tried fingercombing to get rid of the ratsnest it was becoming.... it pulled the waves completely out to where I'm almost a 1c. :(!

[teela1978]

Yeah. If you're wearing it wavy as a 2a, you have to not touch it at all. Pretty much from when it's wet till you decide you're done with the waves. You might be able to get away with pulling the sides back into a half up if you're really careful.

On the other hand, straightening is pretty easy. Comb it out while its damp and I'm down to 1bish on most days, especially if I used a coney conditioner recently. My usual plan is to go in stages. Wash day I'll wear waves. Every day after that is straight/bun waves.

[concrescence]

I'm trying to keep my natural waves, but every time I put my hair in an updo, it ends up taking the waves from that, instead (or worse, the kinks, bends and wonky twists from it!).

Does this happen to everyone? Does your hair spring back to its natural texture when you let it loose? What can I do to get my natural wavies back?
I still don't know what kind of waves I've got. Sometimes they'e 2a, sometimes they're 2c. I've heard that if you leave the wave pattern alone for a couple of weeks, it will show up better - how do I do that and still keep it up and protected?

Thankies very much!

I, too, am confused about my hair. I also can't decide whether my hair is 2a or 2c (it's definitely not 2b). And, yes, any kind of combing or updo will take out all the wave. It wasn't until I did a hairtyping that I realized that my hair really *was* wavy. I thought I was a 1b or 1c that I could encourage to look like something in the 2 range, but it appears that it's really a lazy 2 that easily looks like a one.

[Kiraela]

... but it appears that it's really a lazy 2 that easily looks like a one.


I love that description - That sounds like mine, alright!

I always thought I had rebellious straight hair until I tried proper care and hairtyping - now it is 2 until it dries and falls back into 1.

[Nevermore]

Aside from the front section of my updos (which is bbb'd very flat and close to the scalp), my hair retains its natural wave even after being bunned all day. I'll have the strongest waves only at first, like here: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2156&pictureid=25949 but it'll spiral the longer it's down.

Blowdrying doesn't take away those waves either: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2156&pictureid=37964

I get spirals faster if I encourage it via brushing with oil, but it'll do it eventually without help.

[may1em]

Part of the fun of wavy hair is getting to play with different textures easily.

Mine is always waviest right after wash day. I usually leave it down for 1-3 days, and it gets progressively less wavy as time goes on. Then I put it up for days 2-7 (I wash every 3-7 depending on when it feels too dirty to handle). Sometimes on the middle days, I take it back down, and it looks more like my profile pic than my avatar pic. (Avatar is 2nd day, profile is 3rd or 4th after having had it bunned.)

To me, this isn't fighting the texture, it's just part of what very wavy hair does.

[Margeaux]

First things first: I wear my hair down 95% of the time :)

But no, it's not because updos kill my curls. The curl pattern actually stays the same; I have loose ringlets but they're almost impossible to kill. Whenever I tear them apart with my fingers they're back together the moment I shake my head. Updos don't get to them, either/

However, updos do flatten the part of my hair, usually a horizontal ugly line right at the back of my head, where the elastic/clip has gone, making it look rather silly (imo, apparently nobody else notices this). I'll only ever go with an updo either for a special event OR on the last day before washing, when I'm not planning to wear it down after anymore, anyway.

[Paper Moon]

I also wear my hair down almost constantly, so I really want my curls to be just in the waist area. That way, if I did decide to straighten, I'd be even longer! :cheese:

[Starr]

Once my hair goes up, there's no going back. . .

[Merewen]

I have actually noticed this less since I joined LHC. I think it is because it is more moisturized and cared for better. Depending on your hair, a little extra moisture may help.

[PurpleAshes]

For me, it happens if I use a comb to do the updo. If I use my fingers, the curls remain intact.

[PhillyGirl1978@]

I'm trying to keep my natural waves, but every time I put my hair in an updo, it ends up taking the waves from that, instead (or worse, the kinks, bends and wonky twists from it!).

Does this happen to everyone? Does your hair spring back to its natural texture when you let it loose? What can I do to get my natural wavies back?
I still don't know what kind of waves I've got. Sometimes they'e 2a, sometimes they're 2c. I've heard that if you leave the wave pattern alone for a couple of weeks, it will show up better - how do I do that and still keep it up and protected?

Thankies very much!

How long have you been wearing your hair natural? I think back when I used to relax and blow dry, on rare occasions when I did leave it curly if I put it up I'd get dents and weird looking curls. I've been natural for quite a while now...I think my hair needed to reach a certain length to bring out the real curl pattern. Now I do have to put it up when I eat or when I drive with the windows opened, or other times when it gets in my way. I usually use a hair stick or sometimes a flexi-8 and put it in a peacock twist. I take it down when I'm done and you can't tell it had been up, just fluff a little.

Lately I have been co-washing and doing my whole routine and then putting it up in a twist while it's still damp. It helps with some of the volume.

[JKRBeloved]

For me, it happens if I use a comb to do the updo. If I use my fingers, the curls remain intact.

Oh, yes! I forgot about this. My curls don't remain as strong, but when I finger comb instead of using a comb, they do stay a bit more intact. I also feel that this lessens the damage to my hair... I've had hardly any split ends since I quit using a comb (and quit dyeing).

[GlassEyes]

Once it's up, it's decimated for the day. xD There's no coming back from that with curly patterned hair, and my bun waves, they, well, quite frankly, look like ****. D:

[Kiraela]

I've never really 'done' anything other than taking care of it like it was straight - brushing, etc.
No straightening, no curling, no blowdrying (I was too darn lazy!)


I just want my wavies to look good - harder than I thought, apparently. It seems wetting down is the only option to make it look decent again... Ah, well. Whatever works, I guess.

[redcelticcurls]

Once it's up, it's decimated for the day. xD There's no coming back from that with curly patterned hair, and my bun waves, they, well, quite frankly, look like ****. D:

Hello hair sister! That is me!

It's like it wrecks the pattern of the spiral or something. It has to get wet to re-set.