Is there a way to get very "open" S-waves without heat?

[Gypsygirl]

I have tried so many things now... Sponge rollers, giant curlers, braid waves, bun waves... But even a single braid doesn't give me the desired "openness" of the wave that I want. Normally my hair has a slight wave to it, so if I use a lot of aloe vera gel and my fingers or the tail of a comb, I do get S-waves, but they don't stay in long without heat styling! (I usually put my hair in six braids when it is still damp and the waves stay in until the next wash...and I'm happy with that look, but I want something different for a special occasion...) My hairdresser thinks I'm crazy because I don't want to let her use heat...help? :(

[Kuchen]

Somewhere in articles (forgive me, I can't remember whom it's by) there's a how-to for getting quite deep, 1940s waves by weaving hair round a scarf. They could drop out to s-waves.

[LadyLongLocks]

I do a rope braid on damp hair. It creates great S waves! The rope must be tight and left for several hours. I bun it so it stays rolled.

[piratejenny23]

here's the article:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=82

i tried this and it didn't work for me--but i used strips of flannel and i think they were too thin. i've been meaning to try something bulkier but haven't gotten around to it yet. good luck! please post pics if your hair turns out nice :)

[Honestwitness]

When I was a little girl, my mother would roll my long hair in five or six sections by rolling each section around a cotton sock and tying the ends of the sock in a knot. I would sleep on the lumps all night and have beautiful hair the next day.

Now that I'm growing my hair long again at age sixty, I have discovered my hair has its own waves in a very relaxed "s" pattern. I'm a 2A. I use Organix Coconut Milk Mousse, which contains coconut milk, coconut oil, egg whites, some dimethicone, and I don't remember what else. It smells heavenly!!!

I either air dry or diffuser dry on low heat alternating with cold air (10 to 12 seconds each) while scrunching, until slightly damp. I'm very happy with the results. The curls/waves last all day.

[melikai]

Manderly put up an article on getting soft waves without heat:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=84

[Katze]

I find if I scrunch and 'plop' my hair in a towel, I get these waves, and I make them stay with hair gel or mousse. Since my hair is super messy, I can't really wear it down without styling products, and I LIKE wearing it down once a week or so. :D

Last week I blowdried my hair completely after my swim, and found that this made it a lot straighter. When I airdry or sleep with damp hair in a towel, I get much better waves.

However, my waves are naturally 's' and spiral shaped so I think genetics have something to do with it too.

[MissManda]

Have you tried rag curlers? Depending on how you use them, you can get some nice open waves. I also get very loose S shaped waves at my temples and ends, so if I scrunch them and use gel or mousse, they will stay. I can't brush my hair if I want to keep them, though, or else they go bye-bye.

I think you can also get looser waves with pin curls. I haven't tried them in ages, but that also gives me good results.

I also tried the deep/snake waves tutorial and I think I had the same problm with using the wrong kind of cloth. I'm dying to try them again when I can get something more suitable.

[Gypsygirl]

Thanks so much everyone! I still have enough time left to try all of those methods, yay!:cheese: