I've unleashed my natural texture!

[Harriet]

Hello everyone,
It's day one of my silicone free hair diet. I washed my hair this morning and let it dry naturally, and IT'S WAVY!! I am so happy, I love wavy hair and always thought I didn't have it. But it turns out all the silicones I was using was making my hair not quite straight.
As well as being wavy I also have a nice amount of volume, my hair normally looks like its stuck to my head, but I actually have some root lift :D
So now I need help typing my hair. I previously thought I was a 1b, but now think I might be 2a or 2b, but I'm not sure. My new found waves mean my hair looks a bit shorter now too.
I took a picture of my whole hair and of one tendril so you can get more of an idea what the individual waves are like.
TIA
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b169/sarahedavies/17012010150.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b169/sarahedavies/17012010149.jpg

[Honestwitness]

Well, I'm a 2a and I'd say you are also a 2a. I've learned that scrunching with aloe vera gel and diffuser-drying on low heat, alternating with no heat, gives me some pretty nice waves.

[Elphie]

I'd say 2a as well. The nice thing about 2a hair is you can use things to enhance your waves and it's pretty easy to straighten our hair as well. I like putting my damp hair in a bun and letting it dry to bring out more waves.

[Harriet]

Thanks guys. I'm so pleased about this. Thank goodness for this forum otherwise I'd still be using my silicone packed tresemme and disparing at how flat and boring my hair was. It was so bad, I'd curl my hair with a curling iron, and an hour later it would be almost straight again. But now I don't think I'll ever need to heat style again!
I'll try bun drying my hair next time I wash.

[Elphie]

I have the same experience with silicones...straighter hair that doesn't curl or wave very well. It's nice if I want it straight (and sometimes I do!) but things like bunwaves, braidwaves, even using magnetic rollers all work beautifully without cones. Also, for some reason, shea butter makes my hair hold waves better, too.

[cmnt831]

It's amazing what a small change can make! I too discovered my true texture this week. I thought I was 2b wavy with a lot of frizz, until I quit combing out my hair. It turns out that I've got lots of loose spiral curls that did not appreciate being treated to furious combings:D!

Congratulations on finding your waves - your hair looks beautiful!

[Harriet]

Thank you cmnt831, I've had a love hate relationship with my hair over the years (as I think many redheads do?) But i'm beginning to love it again now I've got some waves. It was so limp and boring before.
Elphie, I can't wait to try out all those methods. I have tried most of them before (when I was using cones) and never had much luck with them. Braid waves sort of worked but the ends would always be so straight that it looked really obvious and not how I wanted at all.

[elina333]

It looks amazing! Good job! ;)

[embee]

Your hair looks lovely! I'm envious. :)

[cmnt831]

I can relate to the love/hate thing: loved the long hair, hated hated the frizz. It's quite possible that your hair will hold styles better, too, now you've brought the wave out. I was the only one of my sisters who got their money's worth out of a style when we had to have it done at the hairdressers for special occasions. Oh, and what Elphie said about shea butter - I found it holds the waves and curls really well without weighing it down. Just use a tiny amount throughout damp hair. At least that's what I (and my husband) do with good effect.

[2peasinapod]

Your hair looks great! It's hard to type from the picture, but you're definitely wavy!:)

I had the exact same experience with cones. I always thought my hair was just straight and unmanageable. I always envied wavies and curlies, and I tried products, protein treatments and heat styling to get them. Nothing worked until I changed my shampoo and conditioner, and then, voila!

Congratulations! :)

[Quixii]

I don't know, but I do know that both you and your hair are very pretty. :)

[Harriet]

Thank you!

[LadyJennifer]

I used to have curlier hair with 'cones, I switched to a more "natural" conditioner and my hair went mostly flat (with some frizz), I thought it was just pregnancy/breastfeeding hormones, well this weekend I switched conditioners and... viola! My curls are back! I'm so excited!

Oh, and I also noticed that shea butter (raw, and I mixed it with apricot kernel and grapeseed oil) works really well for smoothing my hair, but not weighing down my curls. I just melt a little on my palms and pass them over my hair (it also works great as an eyelash conditioner/styler:)