braid waves

[mommy2one05]

I have been experimenting with braid waves, and have found if I put a bit of oil in dry or wet hair and braid my hair for the night then the next am I have really nice waves except my hair soaks up the little bit of oil and looks very greasy so I was wondering if maybe instead of oil if I put a little co or gel or mousse would it do the same without the greasies

[squiggyflop]

never in my life have i even thought of adding oil to my braid... my hair goes straight when it gets oily and greasy... i would say plain old water is best for waves... maybe a little bit of diluted aloe... but i really think water only is your best bet

[lora410]

I don't do braid waves because my ends tend to get fuzzy looking. I do however do bun waves; which is simply letting it up in a bun overnight. If your hair is getting oily you are prob using to much oil. I find 1 drop of any oils smoothed along from the ears down works just fine. also just making hair damp during braid or bun will work without the oil. Since you hair is longer you may need one drop, go halfway down the length and then take another drop of oil and finish the length from where you left off.

[Irishred]

hey there,

What kind of oil are you using? That could make a difference. My hair gets greasy looking if I use olive oil but not is I use cocoa butter. Also coconut oil will look greasy when I first take it out of the braid but then looks fine about 30 min later. My leave-in works well also but I have to dampen my hair first so it is more locking in the moisture. Diluted aloe helps with hold as well.

HTH

[Ninika]

You might try aloe vera gel or juice in a mister. For nice braidwaves I usually mist my hair with aloe juice before braiding and use some oil just on the tassel to make it soft and shiny.

[Stagecoach]

I use straight aloe vera jell on my braids and get great waves. Take a look at my profile picture for an example... those waves came from twin braids with aloe vera.

[mommy2one05]

Thanks to all advice! I really do appreciate it since I am debating on getting a perm, but if I can get some kind of wave or curl naturally then I may stray away from the perm.
lora410 - so putting my hair in a cinnabun or what about a sock bun overnight would help with waves?
squiggyflop - I discovered the oil made my hair somewhat wavier since I did an overnight oiling with my hair in a braid and then rinsed out in the am.
Irishred - I used evoo so maybe I need to try to find some coconut oil, and it would probably have a better smell to it.
stagecoach - You had very nice waves in your profile pic. Did you put the aloe vera gel in your hair with the hair being wet or dry?
Thanks again!!!

[Anje]

EVOO is a rather "heavy" oil. It's really easy to overdo it, at which point your hair looks greasy. Coconut oil is a bit more forgiving in that regard, as are many oils that are runny at body temperature. Whatever you use, my suggestion is that you use a little less oil. If you use no more than the hair actually soaks up, you shouldn't have any coating of oil left to leave your hair looking greasy. (Of course, that's easier said than done, especially when you're starting with wet hair.)

I'll also add a vote for aloe gel. I used to have tangles from it, but it stopped doing that for some reason. I can be really heavy-handed applying it to wet hair, and it looks fine, at least when combed out if not before.

Finally, yes, buns make great waves, though I like the look of them better from a bee-butt bun than a cinnamon bun, because it seems to lessen the initial kink a little. Bun waves are rather curly, while braid waves are more W-form.

[freznow]

Another vote for aloe gel! I love that stuff, it has so many uses.

[heidi w.]

While many like aloe vera for this, test it on a small section of hair first. For some it's sticky.

I suggest that you may be using too much oil if it looks greasy. Also, you could avoid applying it to your scalp hair which then means the oil is mixing with sebum. Sebum is a waxy ester, not the same as oil. A carrier oil mimics sebum: the closest mimicry (to sebum) is Jojoba Oil.

Most who oil anything for any reason, their first few times? ... tend to use too much.

The cautionery tale may also apply for the aloe vera.

heidi w.