1c/2a hair

[dropinthebucket]

Had a look 'round, and didn't see any other threads for us 1c/2a'ers! How do you deal with your fickle, weather-sensitive, 1c/2a hair?

> Do you find it hard to decide whether to coax your hair into straightness, or waviness?
> Do you have days where it's not straight (from dry weather) or wavy (from wet weather) but just a weird, flippy, twisty in-between ?
> Are bangs a nightmare, because sometimes they hang straight, sometimes they curl weirdly, and sometimes they *insist* on flipping out like devils' horns, no matter what you do to them?
> Do you have an arsenal of products (natural or conventional) to deal with your fickle, moody, changeable hair?
If this sounds like you, come on in, and share! :)

[Anje]

Well, there is the 2a F Support Thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=36484), and I thought there was another 1c/2a group, but it isn't turning up in my search.

I don't have a ton of complaints with my hairtype, but part of that is because it's long enough now where I can and do wear it up most of the time. It doesn't matter much whether your hair wants to wave or be straight or just weird if it's bunned or braided. Also, refusing to have bangs eliminates the problems that wavies and curlies have with bangs. :) I don't remember whether mine were nightmarish or not, since I grew them out in 4th grade and won't consider going back, ever. I recall them sometimes having some weird waves in school pictures, though.

[Centaur]

<snip>
> Are bangs a nightmare, because sometimes they hang straight, sometimes they curl weirdly, and sometimes they *insist* on flipping out like devils' horns, no matter what you do to them?


LOL! I am a 2a/2b, but I have the bangs you described. And, I almost NEVER get the same wurls and waves on one side of my bangs as I do the other.:rolleyes:

What do I do about those errant bangs to rein them in? :confused: I wet them and reset them with my hands. And then an hour later they flip out "like devils' horns :lol: again.:rolleyes: And then I give up. That is what I do! :lol:

Oh, yeah, one other thing I do more often than anything is pin them back and just avoid the problem. You can use pretty pins and combs to do that.

But, as much as I have complained about my long bangs just now, on some days they just settle in and look "perfect" and do me proud. Weird, huh. *shrugs*

[Stine]

These devil horns sounds familiar....... :D

Actually, I like them, they are sort of something special.

When I was younger I tried to hide them with lots of hair spray and a lot of different other things, nothing helped. Since i went natural, I think oil would help, but as soon as some sweat or rain comes around that help might be over again...



Edit:
Honestly i think it's funny that my hair has its own mood. ;-)

[rags]

Had a look 'round, and didn't see any other threads for us 1c/2a'ers! How do you deal with your fickle, weather-sensitive, 1c/2a hair?

> Do you find it hard to decide whether to coax your hair into straightness, or waviness?
> Do you have days where it's not straight (from dry weather) or wavy (from wet weather) but just a weird, flippy, twisty in-between ?
> Are bangs a nightmare, because sometimes they hang straight, sometimes they curl weirdly, and sometimes they *insist* on flipping out like devils' horns, no matter what you do to them?
> Do you have an arsenal of products (natural or conventional) to deal with your fickle, moody, changeable hair?
If this sounds like you, come on in, and share! :)

I always comb my hair when wet to try and get it as straight as possible. It does wonderful clumping waves, BUT my hair is so thin it looks strange. So straight it is!

I had bangs cut in last summer for the first time in 20 years. Now I remember why, and the bangs are growing OUT! :p

What annoys me severely is that my hair is never really wavy (except at the beach, where it's gorgeous! One week a year I get pretty hair. :rolleyes:) And it's also never really straight. I used to have straight hair; it began changing when I was around 40. I wish it would be one or the other!

ETA: One of the questions was do you have days where it's a weird flippy in between? ALL my days are like that!!! :p

[Carolyn]

Here's a http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/group.php?groupid=191link for the 1c/2a group

Yes it can be a maddening type. Mine isn't straight enough for my liking and it isn't wavy enough to have the advantages of waves. I always have to do something to it to make it straighter or wavier. At shoulder to mid back length it had to be "done" every day in some way. At longer lengths it can be bunned or braided and be fine. But wearing it down takes some effort. I wish it was either 1a or in the 2b-c range. The grass is always greener isn't it?

I'm sure we had a thread on it before but it may be in the archives so you may want to take a look there.

[rags]

Ah yes - I meant to say that too. I've worn mine up everyday this year, partially because it's so hard to get it looking nice down. It has to be curled if I want to wear it down, or it just doesn't look right. The only way I can wear it down and have it look halfway decent is to slather it with cones, which I don't like to do. My hair is baby fine, and the cones are enough to pull out most of the wave.

[smilinjenn71]

I also had side swept bangs cut this past June and they are growing out again. They are just too much work and don't want to cooperate!

My top canopy tends to be more straight then the under layers, so I get straight (blah) hair on top and then wavies and flips from the under layers. I decided not to fight it and went with a shag cut which works well with my "issues" and is less work. I style with heat though b/c I don't plan on growing any longer than BSL.:)
(one amendment to heat is that I can wrap my hair at night when it's almost dry and not have to use a flat iron, if I want to go straight)

[astrida]

Hi!

I've read the description of the 1c/2a hair, and I think I'm blessed (...) with this type too, altough mine is very short now. (varies from 6-14 cms). Some parts of my hair are very straight, but it waves on the back, maybe because the shape of my head.
Fortunately I managed to grow out my bangs, they were just as crazy as you wrote. They are now at my jawline, but my jaw is really really wide, so my hair simply turns back when it reaches it :D
Its funny, because as it gets longer it tries harder and harder to stay on my jaw :)
The weather is very dry now, but it doesn't have too much affect on my hair, I think.

Yes, I have tons of products, but I used them when I had an even shorter cut. I dont use anything for now, and I stopped blow-drying too, even tough my hair seemed to be straighter when I used it.
I really dont know how my hair will look like in the future. Personally, I'm very afraid of this 1c-2a hair, I don't want to have just a big wave: when it's wavy, I'd like to have at least some nice snakes in it - not just a big fat one...

Sorry for the mistakes in the message

[Ylvalie]

Am I the only one who has no complaints about her 1c/2a hair?
Sometimes it's straighter, sometimes very wavy, but I like both. It suits my mood swings :D

[Lexy]

How about going to a hairdresser and having her/him cut one side shorter and shorter trying to get it "even," and then ultimately realizing that is an errant wave and it's NEVER going to look even?

That used to happen to me all the time. I have the bang problem too. I like my hair though. It's kind of like the weather- you never really know what you're going to get. :lol:

[klcqtee]

Just wanted to pop in and say this is one of my favourite hair types! It looks so pretty with layers :)

[HereIGrowAgain]

Yep, count me in! If I scrunch it up, and then hold the scrunch with a clip, then I get some pretty awesome curls and waves once its dry. Otherwise, I have to blow-dry and then either straighten or curl with rollers. I had my hair down to APL, and then started going shorter, shorter, shorter. But before I did that, I knew I was getting a lot of split ends. I imagine this time I'll continue to go pretty conventional until it gets about APL, and then lay off the heating tools, full on S&D, and leave it alone in updos with lots of oil. I don't have the option (nor do I like the look) of just letting it do whatever it wants when it's shorter.

[dropinthebucket]

Thanks for thread link, Carolyn - I'll check it out!

Nope, no complaints about it really, I like being able to be straight, or wavy, as the mood - um, weather - takes me. Well, ok, the bangs really are a nightmare - I guess that counts as a complaint. :)

I'm not talkin' cute little wavy bangs here, unh unh! I'm talking, make an S, now, take the bottom part of the S out past your ear on the horizontal - looks a bit like one of those pants hangers - yepper. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout! No way that's attractive. Must remember to take a pic and post that soon! before they grow out :D

Thanks for all the tips so far, and please keep 'em coming! - what curly methods work best for you (rags?)? does anything besides heavy silicone products give you the straight look (aloe??)? Bangs or no bangs? What cuts work well? What lengths are hardest for 1c/2as? What length does it settle down? Curious people want to know! :D

[Stine]

Am I the only one who has no complaints about her 1c/2a hair?
Sometimes it's straighter, sometimes very wavy, but I like both. It suits my mood swings :D

Nope, you aren't!
I like that my hair has a mood of it's own....and the devilish things are funny, too, I think. :-)

[vamq]

I actually like having 1c/2a hair. I always thought I just had plain straight hair, but with uncontrolable frizz. Now I know that it is because my hair is slighly wavy. I still deal with the same frizz, and I still don't like it one single bit, but I can accept it because it's part of the texture my hair has :)

Things that gives me wavier hair: conditioner, henna, damp bunning, rain, more time between washings.

Things that gives me straighter hair: daily hair washing (I used to do so before I came to LHC) , ACV rinse.


I used to be able to get the waves quite well defined when my hair was at waist length. But now that my hair is almost tailbone length, I find it more difficult to get those waves nicely defined.
Do other experience this problem as well?

[Kristin]

My bangs do that, too. I blow dry them, since I will probably keep them forever in some form. My hair is OK when I just let it dry and brush it, but I really prefer cinnabun waves.

[baaaad_kitty]

Yeah, sounds like my hair. I have the annoying devil horns. It's such a pain when I get bangs cut because they never turn out very pretty. They wave right at my hair line and I have to straighten them to get them looking nice and fixed. I really am quite jealous of those people who have no devil horns because they can get bangs and sweep them to the side. Hmph.

Other days I'm fine with my hair.

[Theobroma]

Sounds familiar. I grew out my bangs because they started doing all sorts of crazy twists and twirls, and even blowdrying them straight two or three times a day would fail to make them look presentable.

I have to say I find my texture mostly annoying -- to kinky to be straight, to straight to be curly, and irregular at that (the bits around my face will naturally do zigzag waves if I let them, while the hair near the back of my neck is close to straight). I also had nightmare frizz until I started CO washing. It'll do this (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=5614&pictureid=80025) if I cinnabun it when it's damp, but mostly I just wear it up. In addition to protecting it, updos also do away with the need to apply extreme measures to make the length look presentable! :D

[Fiordiligi]

I've only just realised that I probably fall into this category, and I'm still not sure what I think about it. My mum always said I had wavy hair, which I always denied, but then pre-LHC I was in the habit of washing and blow-drying and aggressive combing of wet hair! I like the natural wave I get from air-drying, and the odd ringlet at the nape of my neck, but I don't like the frizzy halo and wavy front so much. The bits that frame my face sometimes look really cute from the front, then I turn sideways and they look like monstrous sideburns!

[rags]

Things that will make mine wavier are CO washing, rain, and lots and lots of moisture conditioners (though not too heavy).

Things that will make it straighter are heavier conditioners (I have baby, baby fine hair), silicones and stretching washes. Completely opposite to someone upthread, mine gets straighter the longer I go without washing it.

As far as curling it, that's one big advantage to this hair type for me. It will take a curl from almost anything as long as my hair is damp. (If it's dry, forget it - it falls out in about 15 minutes). I like braid waves and bun waves, but I also rag curl it and I'm going to try doing the fully rolled sock bun soon to sleep in and see what that does.

[AstrayStar]

I like my hair - I had bone straight hair growing up and so was quite excited to discover that I am getting wavier. It doesn't really matter to me that I still have straight days, but I must admit I am always quite happy when I have awesome wavy days :)

[smilinjenn71]

Things that will make mine wavier are CO washing, rain, and lots and lots of moisture conditioners (though not too heavy).

Things that will make it straighter are heavier conditioners (I have baby, baby fine hair), silicones and stretching washes. Completely opposite to someone upthread, mine gets straighter the longer I go without washing it.

As far as curling it, that's one big advantage to this hair type for me. It will take a curl from almost anything as long as my hair is damp. (If it's dry, forget it - it falls out in about 15 minutes). I like braid waves and bun waves, but I also rag curl it and I'm going to try doing the fully rolled sock bun soon to sleep in and see what that does.

You just described my hair!:p

[christine1989]

I wish my hair was consistent enough to call it 1c/2a! Mine is everywhere from 1b to 2c. I never know what I'm going to get when I wake up in the morning.

[birthmarkie]

I know the feeling! My hair can be from 1a-2a, so I identify with 1c/2a. Never had long enough hair for it to wave/curl this much, so it's a challenge but fun. I've found success using curly hair care methods and products, except without the plopping (my hair likes to not be disturbed at all while drying) and gel (although I do like flax seed gel). Since my hair is straighter on top, it seems to like being parted. My most recent successful routine was to detangle via slippery CO (use more conditioner if shampooing), part with comb or fingers on top but without combing hair itself, do not disturb till dry, gently scalp massage/mist to refresh, detangle/style if it gets too messy.

[silverjen]

When it's humid out I get giant wings right next to my ears, when it's dry it lays much flatter. Eh, I'm OK with looking wacky on humid days.

The only thing I've found to work is to make sure it airdries in the shape I want it to be. Which means carefully, repeatedly flattening my earwings with my hands on wash days. If I mess it up, too late, it's going fwee! whether I like it or not.

I stopped fighting my hair's moods a long, long time ago. It's just not worth the bother and damage of heat treating. Best to just roll with it.

[constantki]

I can relate to the bangs thing-- it is soooo painfully true.
I used to have bangs when I was really little, but they always curled up into devil horns! I quickly grew those out when I was entering middle school haha.

[birthmarkie]

Could someone recommend a sleep style for bun curls? (and what you hold it with, etc.)

[Theobroma]

Could someone recommend a sleep style for bun curls? (and what you hold it with, etc.)

For whatever it's worth, I slept with a cinnabun last night that I put in with plain old hairpins right at the nape of my neck. I sleep on my side and this proved to be perfectly comfortable, but your mileage may of course vary depending on how you sleep. Mind you, I pinned the bun fairly flat and it didn't feel uncomfortable even when I briefly woke up to find myself lying on my back.

I had rather nice, orderly waves this morning, so I'm calling the experiment a success. :)

[xJennax]

I find the weather doesn't affect my hair too much but I do live in a humid climate.

Normally it has a bit of a wave in it, but sometimes I will comb it while it's drying to make it a little straighter, and on occasion I will use the flat iron as I prefer my hair straight. Other times I let it dry wavy and if I leave it in a bun for too long it will create gentle waves which I do like.

If I just let it dry naturally without doing anything it does look a bit messy.

[eamane]

:waving: 1c/2a is my hairtype too, I think. I do definitely recognize this with the "devil's horns" :rolleyes: I have an old schoolpicture that gives proof of this in a real bad way :eek:
Anyhow, my hair has gotten more wavies since I started CO-wash and even when I hennaed, and I know how to make real curls, but how to make it straight without heat? Combing doesn't really seem to help.

>birthmarkie: For curls I use the ragbun over night or so. If I damp the hair with some aloe before it stays pretty good the next day... Unless you comb them through, I can only fingercomb if I want the curls to stay!

[Marjolein]

I'm a solid 1c. No weather change will make my hair wavier or straighter. It is what is is and will not change without extremeley drastic measures. My hair laughs at damp bunning, dry bunning and even flat irons. Bun curls will hold for about ten minutes, perms about a day.

I have bangs right now. I have three (!!) cowlicks there, but bangs look pretty good. For me the key is to have them cut above the first wave. If the hair grows below that wave I get the dreaded devils horns, or as I always called them "Arnie whisps". Arnie was a Dutch soap opera character in the 1990's:
http://www.rtl.nl/actueel/rtlboulevard/gallery/slideshow_gtst.xml

[SpinDance]

I think I'm rather firmly in this camp, probably 2a, although when wet I get loose spirals that may make it 2a/b. Whatever! It mostly does what it wants, when it wants. It will hold a perm (or it did 20+ years ago), and will take some amount of styling, but I ended up deciding it just wasn't worth the time it took. Besides, it was damaging.

Like others have mentioned I used to think my hair was straight but frizzy, now I know better. Some hairs are straight, but some are everything else, from spirals to kinky curly to just loose waves. Everything from very baby fine to extremely coarse, too.

> Do you find it hard to decide whether to coax your hair into straightness, or waviness?

No, I don't really decide as such. Not yet, anyway. :) I mostly let it do it's thing. I have been taking to finger/horn combing it while damp as it dries, which leaves me with mostly straightish hair. When it is wet there are lovely waves, but they don't like to stay near neighbors, so end up just looking messy when dry.

> Do you have days where it's not straight (from dry weather) or wavy (from wet weather) but just a weird, flippy, twisty in-between ?

Yes!! I've been seeing a gradual increase in actual waves, though, after months of regular oiling. Yesterday after air drying I actually saw a section in the middle of the back about a foot square that had real, honest-to-goodness waves. You could see them and everything. Of course it looked pretty goofy in the middle of the rest of the frizz.

I sure hope that as the pre-LHC hair grows out that the new routines continue to improve my wave structure. And no, so far I've not had good success with the curly girl methods. I figure to try again in a few months, though. Or maybe if I get really ambitious I'll try braided/rag curls sometime.

> Are bangs a nightmare, because sometimes they hang straight, sometimes they curl weirdly, and sometimes they *insist* on flipping out like devils' horns, no matter what you do to them?

I don't wear bangs because they never hung right, split in the middle going strange, weird ways, and ended up being way more trouble than they were worth. Grew them out decades ago and no going back! And every time I think about it I remember how much fussing they took, and what a pain it was go grow them out.

> Do you have an arsenal of products (natural or conventional) to deal with your fickle, moody, changeable hair?

Nope, gave up on fighting with it long ago. Now we negotiate, and since I can braid or bun, I can always win! However, I do have a slowly growing selection of oils, and a slowly changing selection of shampoo/conditioners as I use up old stuff and try new ones. I have to admit that while I've gotten several bottles of inexpensive stuff and some clarifying shampoo/conditioner, I've only used up one bottle of pre-LHC conditioner so far. The extremely diluted shampoos are apparently going to last forever!

[dropinthebucket]

Thanks ALL for the fabulous tips! and for the commiseration with bangs! Looks like quite a few of us can identify with the devils' horns :D

Marjolein, yeah! that's exactly it! Arnie hair - wonder if he played a devilish character? ;)

Birthmarkie and Christine1989, I have the same issue - some days, I think it's more like 1b, and some days, maybe even 2c??? split the difference at the 1c/2a designation, too!

Spindance, good to know continued oiling may help the wave over time - my waves like to separate too, dunno why.

I really wanna post pics of a 1b day, and then a 2a or 2b day, but my pics are too big to go into my album - guess I'll have to re-size them if I wanna get them up. :(

[birthmarkie]

For whatever it's worth, I slept with a cinnabun last night that I put in with plain old hairpins right at the nape of my neck. I sleep on my side and this proved to be perfectly comfortable, but your mileage may of course vary depending on how you sleep. Mind you, I pinned the bun fairly flat and it didn't feel uncomfortable even when I briefly woke up to find myself lying on my back.

I had rather nice, orderly waves this morning, so I'm calling the experiment a success. :)

Thanks Theobroma!

[xoxophelia]

> Do you find it hard to decide whether to coax your hair into straightness, or waviness?
> Do you have days where it's not straight (from dry weather) or wavy (from wet weather) but just a weird, flippy, twisty in-between ?
> Are bangs a nightmare, because sometimes they hang straight, sometimes they curl weirdly, and sometimes they *insist* on flipping out like devils' horns, no matter what you do to them?
> Do you have an arsenal of products (natural or conventional) to deal with your fickle, moody, changeable hair?
If this sounds like you, come on in, and share! :)

-I just have given up on it being straight or wavy. Usually it just looks umm.. well neither. I have 2a in my profile but I think I am really 1c/2a but the damaged parts are more wavy.
-I also gave up on bangs. There is no way for my to have them and not heat style them. I also prefer a more "fantasy" look which usually doesn't have bangs.
-I don't use many products at all. Sometimes jojoba oil. Perhaps I am just too lazy. On the rare days I want to wear my hair back without a hair part I use hairspray and salt water helps as well on the few sections with the horrid devil horns (I means it literally looks like devil horns).

Tips-french braid damp hair and leave it over night=>S waves
-loop sections of your hair around your finger as you would with a curling iron but on slightly damp hair. Pin up into buns and leave in => spiral type waves
-get large hair rollers and wrap your hair around them in sections on damp hair. Pin them, leave them for a few hours=>straight hair with volume (blow dry on cool to smooth it)

Those are the best things I have figured out to make my hair look more presentable down without heat.

[birthmarkie]

I just had a brainstorm...wouldn't TP rolls make great large rollers or have I again lost my senses when it comes to hair?

[PiroskaCicu]

For my fringe I blow dry them and use a brush to straighten them...otherwise they'd be a random, wavy-ish mess :P.

But otherwise I really enjoy this hair type. It's not too straight and not too wavy...a nice in between! :)

[sibiryachka]

I call myself a 1c/2a, but honestly I have no idea what type I really am now. Henna (and possibly, I'm now finding, vinegar rinsing??) has taken away a lot of wave, but not all of it. It's so many different lengths, too; I think I'll be able to get a more accurate idea of what the wave/curl pattern really is when the layers are more grown out. I'm surprised by how little this bothers me! I've always tended to just take it as it is each day. Bun waves are always available if I want them, but that's about as much energy as I'll give it.
The only grief it's ever caused me is when I've tried bangs. Devil horns every day! Soooooo not worth it.

[Fairlight63]

I am still experimenting on what shampoo & cond. works the best with my hair. It has been so dry & tangly that I thought that I would cut out the alcohol & protein in the products that I put on my hair.
So last time that I poo & cond. I looked through all of the products that I have (I have a LOT & it was HARD to find a poo & cond. that didn't have one or the other in it!)
Anyway, I used Suave Professionals Almond & Shea butter shampoo. (I think that it does have cones though) and the Aubrey Organics Honey suckle Rose Moisturizing cond.

My hair feels so much better without the alcohol in the product. Feels more like hair & not straw! I haven't had to put jojoba oil on it or anything to get rid of the frizz & it seems to curl better also. So looks like things with alcohol & protein in them is going.

I have bangs now but I am letting them grow out (again, LOL)They are just too hard to deal with, they want to go every which way, so I just pin them back. I used to have them long when I first started growing out my hair, wish that I didn't cut them.:mad:

[1nuitblanche]

Do you find it hard to decide whether to coax your hair into straightness, or waviness?
Yes! It's always in between, and since getting past BSL, never wavy enough to be wavy, but always with wavy too much body to be really straight. And by my nape, there are always bits that are never straight.

Do you have days where it's not straight (from dry weather) or wavy (from wet weather) but just a weird, flippy, twisty in-between? Yes!! Always. But I live in a place that is pretty much always humid.
Are bangs a nightmare, because sometimes they hang straight, sometimes they curl weirdly, and sometimes they *insist* on flipping out like devils' horns, no matter what you do to them?
Nope. When I have bangs, they always lay nice. Sometimes the ends curl off to one side when they get past my brows, and I thought that was cute. The top and front of my hair is pretty straight though.

Do you have an arsenal of products (natural or conventional) to deal with your fickle, moody, changeable hair? I wish! Right now, I'm using cones (Fructis), but have also had success with no cones (Suave and coconut oil or olive oil). The best strategies are for me to let my hair dry up and overnight for wavier hair or else to fingercomb lots with extra conditioner which it's drying to get straighter hair.

[HereIGrowAgain]

Yeah, I always forget that bangs don't work unless I put a LOT of work into them. I constantly cut them, grew them, cut them, grew them. :rolleyes:

I see that now you can get clip in bangs, so I think I'll get myself one of those once my hair is longer, to avoid that awful cycle. Because, really, those devil horns only really work in October; the rest of the time they just give me away. :eyebrows:

[SheaLynne]

This is me! I always thought I had straight hair with a little wave to it, but I never saw that as a desirable hairstyle...had to be "curly" (hence, years of perms and hot rollers) or straight (then came the years of flatirons LOL).

I gave up on having to straighten my bangs every morning about last fall, so they are now solidly past my chin and will stay in most higher updos, so I'm free of the "will of their own" bangs!

I love, love, love airdrying my hair and having wavy hair for a day or so, and I enjoy it being straight when I want it to. Mine will also take a curl when slightly damp rolled on sponge curlers or, preferably, trouser socks for rag/sock curls. (If I start too damp, it is too thick to ever get dry...)

I'm happy with it. :)

[Marjolein]

Marjolein, yeah! that's exactly it! Arnie hair - wonder if he played a devilish character? ;)

Haha, well, actually he was more of an ideal son in law character. He was also considered quite a hottie (back in the 90's, that is), so I guess we should all cut our hair in that style :confused:shudder::laugh:?

[Anje]

My biggest pet peeve with my straivy 1c/2a hair is the new growth ends. For the first inch or two, they have more wave (maybe to the point of curl), until the hair gains thickness. Effectively, this means that every new end I have sticks out of the mass of hair, as if to say "here I am!" It looks a lot like breakage, but it definitely is new growth, while the broken ends do a better job at hiding.

Anyone else, or is this just a quirk of my follicles?

[yvsa]

Yes, I have 1c/2a hair. Now with my pixie it is a pain. But when I see the pictures of 1c/2a hair being longer I find it a lovely hairtype. So I just have to wait:D.

[1nuitblanche]

My biggest pet peeve with my straivy 1c/2a hair is the new growth ends. For the first inch or two, they have more wave (maybe to the point of curl), until the hair gains thickness. Effectively, this means that every new end I have sticks out of the mass of hair, as if to say "here I am!" It looks a lot like breakage, but it definitely is new growth, while the broken ends do a better job at hiding.

Anyone else, or is this just a quirk of my follicles?

You're not alone - you just described my new growth perfectly! I always have some sort of curl halo of new growth. Oil or extra conditioner on fairly dry hair seems to help a little when I want to wear my hair straighter, and oil or product seems to help a little when I want to wear my hair wavier.

[SpinDance]

Oh yes, Anje! I have this all the time. Lots of little floaty bits that curl all over the surface of my hair. Once they get long enough they'll give it up and stay down amongst the others. I completely shocked a hairdresser one day when I had this thick, curly white hair (used to be red, one of the first to go white) sticking straight up from the top of my head, unless I manged to get it tucked under longer ones. She happened to 'free' it when combing prior to a trim and wanted to cut it off. I about shrieked and said "No!! It's almost long enough to stay down!"

"Straivy" What a great word! That's it exactly.

[Theobroma]

My biggest pet peeve with my straivy 1c/2a hair is the new growth ends. For the first inch or two, they have more wave (maybe to the point of curl), until the hair gains thickness. Effectively, this means that every new end I have sticks out of the mass of hair, as if to say "here I am!" It looks a lot like breakage, but it definitely is new growth, while the broken ends do a better job at hiding.

Anyone else, or is this just a quirk of my follicles?

Yes! This is my hair exactly. And just to add to the weirdness, I currently have a lot of new growth that's just a bit below jaw length (regrowth after a big shed some time ago), and all the ends of those new hairs are curling outward as well! So I have an annoying line of fuzzies somewhere between jaw and collarbone level! :wail:

[irishlady]

Alas, I have all of these problems :rolleyes:

[dropinthebucket]

Hair halo, yes! definitely have that - it looks crazy, wild, weird, frizzy, and flagrant when i take it out in the wet! i look like an asylum escapee with it all standing up like that - but i'm so totally thrilled to have new hair growth! finally! after not seeing any for so long - i thought it was breakage, but thanks to LHC wisdom, i checked the ends, and nope, not breakage, NEW hair! :clapsindelight: Now it just needs to grow.

Arnie a 90s hottie -- heeheehee ..... i'm having Patridge Family flashbacks! oh wait, that was the 80s :)

[Henrietta]

How do I deal... I wear it up most of time. If there's hot weather (because it means no rain) I wear it down sometimes...

I used to wishing on 1a hair, few years ago I even straightened it... Now I feel like I am in between. I cannot call myself "curly" but also not "straight". BUT I can easily get straight after brushing and wavy after braiding. Magical thing.

> Do you have days where it's not straight (from dry weather) or wavy (from wet weather) but just a weird, flippy, twisty in-between ? -Yes. Because of the weather. The more rain, the more mess.

> Are bangs a nightmare, because sometimes they hang straight, sometimes they curl weirdly, and sometimes they *insist* on flipping out like devils' horns, no matter what you do to them?
I blowdry them. ONLY bangs. They lay as I want them to lay for a day and then, after a night, it's curly again... But I am used to it. I have fun. I stopped ranting:D We have to accept it. Sometimes I even don't blowdry it. And I have straight-ish length and curly, not wavy but curly- bangs:D

> Do you have an arsenal of products (natural or conventional) to deal with your fickle, moody, changeable hair? - No;) I let the hair do whatever it wants:D

As I hate braid waves I sleep with my hair into a ponytail with a few elastics which makes it straighter. But then I put it into a bun which helpes my waves to appear:) 1c/2a hair is like dark blonde/light brown. You can say anything you want and have whatever you want every day:D

And I am so glad we have our own thread! :)

[cooklaezo13]

I am just learning that my hair is not actually straight but rather slightly wavy. I'm a "secret wavy" :). At shorter lengths my hair is straight at the roots and on the length, and then flips out a lot on the ends. It's kind of cute sometimes and kind of annoying at other times. Now that it is past my chin it is actually starting to show a wave or two.
I can bring out some waves/curls by plopping, then letting it dry untouched (like in my signature picture). I can also convince it to be mostly straight by combing it several times while damp (like in my avatar).

[Miss Maisie]

1c/2a here!! I was 1a/1b when I was younger, but now I have this marvelous in-between-not-straight-not-waves hair. I actually really like it!

If I do an acv rinse, my hair tends to be much wavier. Cones make it a solid 1b. It holds bun waves really well, but I find that braid waves are a disaster in my hair. It just gets...huge.

I got a small trim yesterday, and my hairstylist curled it for me. I haven't used a flat iron/curling iron in my hair since last June, and I was shocked that not only did the curls last all day, but they were still there (and pretty curly!) this morning. My hair never, ever used to hold a curl.

I usually style my hair either with BIG pin curls (for lovely waves) or brush it as it dries (for really straight hair). I like how versatile this hair type is.

[Rose Petal]

Yes to the halo and how annoying it is. I am desperately hoping my conversion to CO wash is going to help with this particular 'frizz'. Particularly on the super humid days, of which there are currently quite a few. It's a La Nina again on the east coast of Australia (extra humidity and rain), which is weird for those of us who live in the south, because summer is usually hot and dry for us once we pass the first week or so of January. Its just long enough to look quite nice in a French Braid, but the halo, Argh!

My hair type also seems to depend, firstly, on how long it is, and secondly on frequency of washes once it gets longer. Shorter hair is straighter, which is bizarre, because I get kiss curls at the front if I sit in the bath once it has some decent length (see halo comments above). Where the waves start also depends on how long it is. The longer it gets, the higher they start. Generally wavier on days it is not washed, remains wavy once I have worn it up or in braids.

Finger combing when wet will make it straight, or bun waves or rollers of various types for a wave or curl. Air drying without touching looks nice when still damp, but the waves only stay at the front and I get separated frizz at the back, as I notice some others suffer from. Braid waves can be problematic- I can suffer big hair syndrome on this front, especially in humid weather. I'm talking triangle. This would have been wonderful circa 1987, very chic, but not now. Although if my hair is very moisturised, this is less of a problem.

Since a very good hairdresser suggested I should not have a fringe as a teenager and adult I have followed that advice. From other people's comments, this appears to have been a good move. (For the record that advice had nothing to do with my hair, and rather more with my face shape)

Also, my hair grabs colour. Any one else have this problem/bonus? On the plus side my hair looks simply fabulous with henna or semi permanent colour, and indeed transforms under these conditions to perfect hair (or my version of it anyway). On the minus side it makes it difficult to get rid of lingering colour. Since the greys are just starting to come through, and I figure I should get in while the going is still fairly good, I'm not dying it at the moment. Still not sure I have reached my natural haircolour yet. Although I do look terrible in all black, so I figure I must be close. The last dye job was an at home 'wash out in nine washes' job (red) for Halloween. I'm not sure I've ever reached my natural hair colour since I was twelve. I often give up because the semi permanents and henna makes it look so nice. I'm trying to be good this time.

[cremenoir]

i had to laugh when i read the questions in the first post because it's a big yes to all of the above! my main issue these days is that i would love to give up heat styling and blow drying, but my hair is just wavy enough that it won't go straight without heat, but not quite wavy enough in the canopy to look good without blow drying with a diffuser (at least this can be done on a cool heat setting) or without a few little flat-iron curls thrown in the mix to liven up the straight spots. in the summer humidity, my hair will curl up into big, crazy S waves that look just like combed out finger waves (with a side of frizz), but in the winter it can be hard to get even the slightest amount of wave out of it (except on the ends of course, which ALWAYS flip out wildly in random directions no matter what the rest of my hair is doing.

i have to give my hair some credit though, i do really like it at certain lengths, it's just at an awkward stage ATM...and our hair type certainly has a wide range of awkwardness! i think this hair type looks great when it's really short and shaggy and allowed to run wild, or when it's long enough to allow the wave pattern to fully wave itself back and forth a few times, rather than just causing the ends to stick out at random... hard to explain, but all you 1c/2a folks probably know what i mean! i think our hair type works best either with a TON of layers at various lengths or BSL or longer and all one length or minimally layered. right now i'm attempting to grow from the one extreme (wild, shaggy, ultra-layered, ultra-texturized pixie) to the other (long and no layers) and let me tell you the in-between stages are not always pretty! i'm just past shoulder length right now and i can tell it's going to be a struggle until about BSL, but i'm gritting my teeth and waiting it out cause i know it will be worth it in the end... because as tough as our hair type can be, it sure can look nice when it finds it's favorite lengths! :)

[ravenheather]

I belong here. I always thought my hair was straight as I washed everyday and blowdried. When I left it alone to check texture I got this.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6860368785_e0e1750c60.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47809319@N06/6860368785/)
DSCN0785 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47809319@N06/6860368785/) by KailaMama (http://www.flickr.com/people/47809319@N06/), on Flickr

I'm not sure what will happen when hair is longer. This texture is part of my bangs debate. I look better with blunt bangs, but they won't stay down without blowdrying. There's one big cowlick on the side. So I keep debating whether to grow them out or not.

[Vanilla]

I wish I could have bangs! They would so look cute with my face shape, but they turn into devil horns immediately.

I hate wearing my hair down, as I always have a lonely wave at my temples, or more waves/frizz when it's raining. I don't try to tame my hair into submission with products anymore, I just wear it up most of the time. Scrunching or braid wavea makes my hair fall even flatter at the roots. I seem to have the best luck with bun waves and tolerating my hair being down.

[cooklaezo13]

I was wondering if anyone here has had luck with using duckbill clips while the hair is drying to give lift at the roots? I just bought some and I'm curious to see how they work out after my next wash.

[rowie]

I was wondering if anyone here has had luck with using duckbill clips while the hair is drying to give lift at the roots? I just bought some and I'm curious to see how they work out after my next wash.

hmmm I haven't tried that. I have coarse hair that gives me so much volume that if I don't tie my hair it will be crazy. Recently, I have tried the hair claw (or big butterfly clip), and it tames my hair but still lifts the roots in the back of my head. I just like to use the claw cause I find it easier then making a bun. A simple french twist and your hair is already up and voila!

As far as getting volume on the top head, that is a tough call since I am finding that I am starting to loose my volume and my hair is getting straighter as my hair gets longer. hmmm maybe try using a claw and do a french twist on the top of your head to lift the roots?

[jnbmowl]

My hair has gotten curlier with age. Funny thing I noticed my moms hair was super curly, and saw a picture from when I was little, she had super straight hair. I wonder if it could be genetic, some of my aunts have mentioned that their hair has gotten curlier.
The devil horn thing is so me I have bangs, it gets crazy with even the slightest hint of rain or moisture.

[Rose Petal]

.

i have to give my hair some credit though, i do really like it at certain lengths, it's just at an awkward stage ATM...and our hair type certainly has a wide range of awkwardness! i think this hair type looks great when it's really short and shaggy and allowed to run wild, or when it's long enough to allow the wave pattern to fully wave itself back and forth a few times, rather than just causing the ends to stick out at random... hard to explain, but all you 1c/2a folks probably know what i mean! i think our hair type works best either with a TON of layers at various lengths or BSL or longer and all one length or minimally layered. right now i'm attempting to grow from the one extreme (wild, shaggy, ultra-layered, ultra-texturized pixie) to the other (long and no layers) and let me tell you the in-between stages are not always pretty! i'm just past shoulder length right now and i can tell it's going to be a struggle until about BSL, but i'm gritting my teeth and waiting it out cause i know it will be worth it in the end... because as tough as our hair type can be, it sure can look nice when it finds it's favorite lengths! :)


Oh my yes. I know what you mean about the length thing. Some times I just stick it up for months on end, waiting for the right moment...particularly between shoulder and APL, it just won't sit right!

[ascension101vr2]

Thanks for the ideas ladies I also have this hair type, and now that I am growing out my hair again I am reminded of the joyful devils horns and curves that stick out at strange angles making me look like I woke up and never put a brush to my hair.

[ravenheather]

So it seems that shoulder to apl is particularly difficult with this hair type? Is it apl or bsl when it strts to behave again? What suggestions do you have to get through this stage?

[Vanilla]

So it seems that shoulder to apl is particularly difficult with this hair type? Is it apl or bsl when it strts to behave again? What suggestions do you have to get through this stage?

Keep it up as much as possible! I find that BSL finally gives some weight to my hair and it doesn't look so crappy as it does at shoulder and APL.

[gracenotes]

Mine started behaving again around BSL, maybe a little before. Definitely keep it up as much as possible. Mine was in a messy bun CONSTANTLY at this phase.

[Lippytoes]

Ooh, I didn't realise there was a thread for my hairtype until now. :)

So yeah, it's awesome to see that everyone else has similar issues as me. :D I used to have an "anime-inspired" fringe about seven years ago, and gosh, it was so unpredictable! Flippy, unruly waves all over the place. Nothing like the sleek, even hair I'd had in mind... I have to say it's much easier without a fringe, for me.

Now my hair's at almost hip, it feels like the waves have room to develop, and I'm actually really happy to be a 1c/2a. We get to have it both ways! It's so nice to know that I can make my hair straighter or wavier depending on what I do to it.

[DarkAlice]

the best thing for me, my hair can behave wildly sometimes but the thing is to never sleep with your hair wet or you'll wake up with curls and flips on one side and flat straight hair on the other its a nightmare

[Fairlight63]

My hair is a 2a & can be a nightmare to comb after washing & letting it air dry. The last couple of times that I washed my hair & put cond. on it I also put 3 drops of oil on the hair from the shoulders down while still wet. Last week I used coconut oil - I don't think that my hair likes coconut oil - it still felt kind of crunchy & dry. Last night I used Olive Oil & braided it for the night. That oil was much better. My hair feels so much softer & not dry & frizzy.
What a difference it makes in my hair to put it on while it is still wet! I want to try the Baby oil & mineral oil next but will have to wait until I go shopping.

[HairFaerie]

Ohhhh....I am so in this category/thread!

I just hit shoulder and I am trying to grow out my bangs. So very frustrating with this hair type!

I have just started embracing the flippy things on the sides and back of my hair, and now my bangs are acting up since I am letting them grow out. I get WINGS!!! AGH!

I think once I get to APL the waves will look nice. They will actually looks like waves instead of unruly flippy things all over my head! :)

[Nenwing]

I too have this hair type and get at a real loss sometimes as to how to make it look nice.

Do you ever feel like, with this hair type, that you have "little kid" hair? What I mean by that is that I find my hair looks similar to the hair on a little kid's head, you know, not tame or controlled and flipping and flopping in all directions usually with some frizz and static thrown in there. Ugh!

Right now my hair is a bit above shoulder length which seems to be alright to wear it down. Part of the problem is my hair is very fine so it doesn't have the weight to make it hang nice. I agree that this hair type can be a particular challenge from about shoulder length to at least BSL.

[holothuroidea]

Ta-Da! *flourish* Here I am! I'm so glad I found this thread.

My biggest pet peeve about my hair type is that the wave pattern changes with every inch of growth, at least at this stage. So last month I was 2a then last week I was 1c, now my hair is 1b with a flip at the end and I am just hoping against hope that the waves come back. I need them for volume and I would be really sad to see them leave for good.

[cremenoir]

i definitely know what you mean about the changing wave pattern! as my hair grows out i never know what it will do next.

i'm going back to my natural virgin hair and i have about 7 inches of growth from root to line of demarcation, and another 0-5 inches of old, damaged dyed hair at the ends. i'm noticing that the areas where all the dyed hair has already been cut off (nape area/back of head/bangs) and the roots are much less wavy than the damaged areas. it's strange! it looks like two different peoples hair attached to each other, one brown and slightly wavy and one blondish and very wavy.

[cremenoir]

oh and nenwing, i definitely do feel like i have little kid hair! haha i know just what you mean.

[Rose Petal]

My hair is a 2a & can be a nightmare to comb after washing & letting it air dry. The last couple of times that I washed my hair & put cond. on it I also put 3 drops of oil on the hair from the shoulders down while still wet. Last week I used coconut oil - I don't think that my hair likes coconut oil - it still felt kind of crunchy & dry. Last night I used Olive Oil & braided it for the night. That oil was much better. My hair feels so much softer & not dry & frizzy.
What a difference it makes in my hair to put it on while it is still wet! I want to try the Baby oil & mineral oil next but will have to wait until I go shopping.

Ooh, let me know how the mineral oil goes, I have yet to try that.
I have begun to suspect that cononut oil may also not be for me. I get crunchy ends from it very easily, and it seems to be too rich (which is funny, because I thought my hair loved moisture). I may go back to using olive oil instead.

What do people who are doing the natural products thing use for leave in conditioner? I really miss it.:confused:

[cremenoir]

i've been looking around for some good style inspiration for people with 1c/2a hair and my favorite is alexa chung! i love how she embraces the whole 'little kid hair' look and lets it be flippy and random and totally rocks it. of course someone as gorgeous as she is could rock just about anything haha but i really love her style. it looks so carefree and fun. makes me think my awkward hair type has potential! :D

[holothuroidea]

Excellent eye, cremenoir! She does indeed have this hair type. It looks natural too, because her hair is basically the same color and texture in all of her pictures though she has had different lengths.

I usually brush the texture out of my hair, because it looks so stringy and like you said "flippy and random" but it looks just like hers when it's unbrushed. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, maybe I will stop brushing my hair all the time. It's always easier to see the beauty in something when it is on someone else's head and not your own!! :laugh:

If her color is natural it's very similar to mine, with that dark ash to medium blonde ombre. Haha, I have a celebrity hair twin! Except hers looks way more fabulous, of course.

[dagny]

Hello everyone!

I just realized today that my hair is 1c/2b and NOT 1a like I always thought. I am not sure what has caused the change in my hair texture because it always used to be very straight (NEVER held a curl) and stringy looking if I didn't brush it. I always had spiral curls at the "side burn" area -- which like to stick straight out -- but other than that I was straight.

Over the past year, the spirals increased to the nape of my neck and this past August I noticed the new growth pieces would stick out like a "halo". I also began to notice a wave in my hair and it kept looking "fluffy" (like my avatar photo from Aug).

This past month it has been very humid and my hair is fluffy and starting to frizz!!

Not sure what the cause is. I just started a protein-free shampoo/condish (cone-free, protein-free, panthenol-free) and I wonder if this might be adding to the change?

I wish I had something to offer, but I am just trying to figure out how to make my hair look shiny again like it did when it was completely straight. I do notice that my hair looks amazing when I wear a slightly damp sock bun at night and get the beautiful curls in the morning. I have not done this for a few months -- perhaps I should again.

ETA: I have also noticed that any loose hairs I find around the house are in a spiral curl. Makes me wonder if my hair could be even wavier/curlier with some curly haired methods?

Cheers!

Dagny

[jojo]

I need to change my hair type thingy, my hair is more 1c/2a now its longer and it has wavy and straight days depending on what ive washed my hair with and the weather!

[highlightedmess]

I'm going to have read through this thread. I sympathize with all of you because my hair also usually looks like messed up kids hair.

If I brush it, it tends to sort of clump up and go every which way in the back.

If I try to follow the curly girl tips, it just looks like a big rat's nest of frizz and undefined waves.

Dagny, I think you are on to something with going cone free. I would have sworn my hair was stick straight and wouldn't hold a curl for the last several years. Since going natural with my products, I have rediscovered a lot of curl and wave in my hair.

[caadam]

1c/2a WHOOP

Totally got the kid hair thing going on when my hair is shorter.

But if I let my hair dry while it's down, the virgin hair at the nape of my neck turn into friggin' ringlets. But the rest of my hair is, like, some crazy hybrid of straight and wavy, some weird curls here and there. lol Yeah.

[cremenoir]

i found an awesome product or bringing out the waves: garnier pure clean gel. i am usually not a fan of gels at all, but i bought this stuff on a whim the other day and it turned out to be just what i was looking for. it isn't drying or crunchy or flaky at all. after oiling my ends with a tiny but of baby oil, i put some gel on my damp hair, diffused it mostly dry then let it air dry the rest of the way. it was just the right amount of hold to make the stubborn straightish parts of my hair tighten up into waves but it was soft enough to rake my fingers through. yay! definitely recommend it to my fellow sorta-wavies!

[barely.there]

yaaayy. I'm not alone anymore :boohoo:

My latest habit has dropped the flat iron (it was dying anyway) so I got a large round BBB and blowdry my hair on cool with it. It helps flatten out the body and keep a bit of curl at the ends, which is very pretty to play around my shoulders.

of course, the curls at the ends arent always the same....like today. So I put my hair up. Usually I like it down though :)

If I want curly hair, I go all the way. hehe. :afro:

[shutterpillar]

I love my hair type! It can be straight when I want it to with little effort, or it can have beautiful beachy waves with little effort.

I did not like when I had bangs, though. I used to always blow dry them because they flipped up into the horns. lol. But now I am growing them out since I am staying away from heat altogether. They fall nicely into place now, and I love them. :)

[TiffanieJean]

There is a social group for 1c/2a!

Like others have said, bangs (even side sweapt) were a bad idea for me lol. I like some layers tho. They seem to bring out a little extra wave and body to my hair. Especially as it gets longer.My hair used to be currlier than it it now, but changed to wavy after I had my son. it's only been 2 years, so i'm just now coming to terms with it and understanding how to work with my hair.

[carolinaberry]

I haven't 100% figured out my exact hair type, but I know 1c is in the mix. The bangs issue described-that's my life. I love to have bangs, but they always swoop-usually in different directions. It is one thing that makes them hard to cut at home. But they never lay just right. Also, having any style that requires the ends to all do the same thing (like certain bobs, etc) never happen for me. I mean, I have gotten the cuts, but then my hair flips out or under or to the side in sections, however it feels at the time. Usually one side will flip under, the other side will flip out. From what I remember from long ago, when my hair grows long enough, it just looks like very large waves (I thought my hair was straight)-with length the flipping is turned to waving. I do sometimes wish I could encourage the more pronounced waves that are present when my hair is wet to stick around sometimes.

[Lippytoes]

I love my hair type! It can be straight when I want it to with little effort, or it can have beautiful beachy waves with little effort.

I did not like when I had bangs, though. I used to always blow dry them because they flipped up into the horns. lol. But now I am growing them out since I am staying away from heat altogether. They fall nicely into place now, and I love them. :)

Hahaha, oh yes, the dreaded horns. :D I remember that from back when I had an "anime-inspired" fringe (that's bangs to you), all side-swept and asymmetrical. It was supposed to lie down flat and straight (at that time, when I was a teenager, I was under the impression that I had completely straight hair), but instead it swooped around all over the place. It was difficult! And I didn't use blow driers then either, so I didn't know how to tame it.

Anyway, I agree with you that 1c/2a hair is an awesomely versatile hair type. Even if sometimes I'd love to have more curl! :)

[sfgirl]

I think I'm here. If I comb my hair when it's wet, and than brush it once it's almost dry, it's pretty straight. If I just fingercomb (my hair tangles when wet, so I can't let it be 100&#37; natural), it's kind of wavy!

[cooklaezo13]

I haven't 100% figured out my exact hair type, but I know 1c is in the mix. The bangs issue described-that's my life. I love to have bangs, but they always swoop-usually in different directions. It is one thing that makes them hard to cut at home. But they never lay just right. Also, having any style that requires the ends to all do the same thing (like certain bobs, etc) never happen for me. I mean, I have gotten the cuts, but then my hair flips out or under or to the side in sections, however it feels at the time. Usually one side will flip under, the other side will flip out. From what I remember from long ago, when my hair grows long enough, it just looks like very large waves (I thought my hair was straight)-with length the flipping is turned to waving. I do sometimes wish I could encourage the more pronounced waves that are present when my hair is wet to stick around sometimes.

Yes, my hair is like this. Above the shoulder, it flips at the ends. When it gets longer it has big loose waves. It's good to see someone else here who has my hair type. On a good day, I can convince the hair to all flip in one direction (flip out).

[xnibn]

the best thing for me, my hair can behave wildly sometimes but the thing is to never sleep with your hair wet or you'll wake up with curls and flips on one side and flat straight hair on the other its a nightmare

This exactly my hair

[Katze]

Me too! Actually, I'm more like 1b/2b since my hair ranges so wildly in texture.

After six years at LHC, my hair has not gotten much longer, but it has gotten thicker and healthier. I gave up bleach and regular blowdrying/curling (had not heard of straightening irons, so I used a curling iron for that purpose too). I have gone from APL to BSL to 'closing in on waist' , trimmed layers, trimmed after huge shed, trimmed taper...and am back between APL and BSL, which seems to actually be my terminal length.

My hair seems to need regular leave-in and deep treatments - SMT is the best so far - and while my scalp needs occasional sulfate washes my hair does better with WO or CO.

I do use gel or mousse fairly often.

What is really weird is that I have still not found my routine or 'magic bullet' that makes my hair behave, be manageable, or grow long. Something will work for a while, then stop working - either I am getting buildup, or my scalp is unhappy, or the weather changes...

anyway yes, this hair type is a nice adventure every day!

[SnowWhite]

Bump!

Yeah, I'm in this topic. My hair is really a challenge to deal with. When I comb it, it becomes a 1c, but when I airdry it, it's definitely wavy, so I should sayy a 2a or 2b. The days after washing however, my hair becomes straighter and straighter because it's quite heavy. I wish I had wavier hair, at this length it's a PITA. Watch my avatar, it flips at that shoulder length. I'm curious about it, how it will behave when it gets longer...

I second this:





i have to give my hair some credit though, i do really like it at certain lengths, it's just at an awkward stage ATM...and our hair type certainly has a wide range of awkwardness! i think this hair type looks great when it's really short and shaggy and allowed to run wild, or when it's long enough to allow the wave pattern to fully wave itself back and forth a few times, rather than just causing the ends to stick out at random... hard to explain, but all you 1c/2a folks probably know what i mean! i think our hair type works best either with a TON of layers at various lengths or BSL or longer and all one length or minimally layered. right now i'm attempting to grow from the one extreme (wild, shaggy, ultra-layered, ultra-texturized pixie) to the other (long and no layers) and let me tell you the in-between stages are not always pretty! i'm just past shoulder length right now and i can tell it's going to be a struggle until about BSL, but i'm gritting my teeth and waiting it out cause i know it will be worth it in the end... because as tough as our hair type can be, it sure can look nice when it finds it's favorite lengths! :)

[Faux]

> Do you have days where it's not straight (from dry weather) or wavy (from wet weather) but just a weird, flippy, twisty in-between ?

Yes! That's what my hair is like if I don't style it. I don't have nice waves at all.

[Vampyria]

When I had longer hair I didn't really know what type my hair was, because I haven't found LHC yet. But I would say it was wavy.
Then, I cut off all the damaged hair and I was shocked, because all the waves were gone. So I thought that my hair is going to be straight now.

Then, I discovered LHC and found out, that I still have at least one wave. I thought I was 1c. Once, I let it air dry without combing and I found some more waves. :D

[battles]

After reading this thread, I'm pretty sure I'm still 1c/2a. After using henna, my wave died down a little, though.

I usually comb while using a blowdryer on cool aiming down the length of my hair to smooth/straighten it out, otherwise I end up with a lot of flyaways. I have a ton of hairs that are different lengths. :( A bunch of newer growth catching up alll the way down.

I haven't quite accepted my hair type. It's not wavy, it's not straight.. It doesn't take to CG methods well, it just goes stringy and sad. It doesn't go completely straight, either. I'd love to have either 1a or 3a hair, but that's not how it worked out I guess. :p

[Erika_92]

Yeah I'm a mixture of 1c and 2a. I like my hair straight so I try to comb it while drying but i still get this baby hair waves behind my ears and nape. I have found a good solution to this: I roll these pieces of hair on really big rollers and let them dry on them. That flattens them out:)

[kallarina]

This is me! Don't look at my avatar for the waves, though...
I normally let my hair be wavy. After years of straightening the living daylights out of my hair for years (because I thought straight hair was the most beautiful), I finally got to college and gave up. Too lazy. :p
I found that I actually like my waves (when they behave). I think we are very lucky. Most of us can brush straight, but we also get those coveted "beach waves" naturally.

[Freyariane]

Bump!

Yeah, I'm in this topic. My hair is really a challenge to deal with. When I comb it, it becomes a 1c, but when I airdry it, it's definitely wavy, so I should sayy a 2a or 2b. The days after washing however, my hair becomes straighter and straighter because it's quite heavy. I wish I had wavier hair, at this length it's a PITA. Watch my avatar, it flips at that shoulder length. I'm curious about it, how it will behave when it gets longer...

I second this:


Yes! That's what my hair is like if I don't style it. I don't have nice waves at all.

I totally agree!!
My hair also seems to be 1b sometimes! It totally depends of the weather and if I comb them when damp/wet...

[Mesmerise]

I used to think I was the only one with weird hair that was straight in some parts and quite curly in others, so it's good to know I'm not alone ;). Mine is a real range, really... from 1b/c to maybe 2b/c where it can form ringlet curls underneath (which I would consider a 2c), and yet some of the hair on top near the front is barely waved at all, and would be closer to 1b!

I sort of hope that eventually it will get to a length where it'll just look okay instead of weird and mixed and stupid ;). I generally call myself a 2a, but I don't really feel I "fit" in with other 2as as for me it's just an "average" more than a real hair texture!

I did get addicted to straightening before LHC as it was the only way I felt I could make my hair look nice! I always figured I wouldn't mind if it was all wavy or all straight, as long as it wasn't part wavy and part straight!! I could handle regular waves :rolleyes:.

[Tota]

Bump!

My longer layers are almost straight and my upper layers are solid 2a if I don't comb/brush them. For years I thought my hair is straight but weird because I used to brush it wet. These last two years I stopped doing that and the waves came ... Now I know that brushing/combing my hair makes it look limb, lifeless and dull. If I just fingercomb it my hair has much more texture and volume and just looks better (shinier, happier - I don't know how to describe it). Now I only brush my hair when it's soaked with conditioner and my 1c/2a hair is happier than ever. I also realized that the less I touch it the better it looks. That sucks though because I love to touch my hair :shrug:

[Thenolegirl]

I'm 2a/2b, and my hair has changed from being a wild mop into fairly smooth with distinct waves as I've grown up (changed maybe around age sixteen?). Before it was a nightmare...now I feel like I can coax my hair to do what I want it to do. My hair is cut into long layers, the shortest just above APL. It brings out the waves and helps it stay tame, but I'm going to grow them out just to see =) But bangs on me, at least short fringe right across, is difficult. It wants to curl in and go every which way and gets oily super super quick. If I get it cut in, I'm asking for a smoothing cream, round barrel brush, and hair dryer everyday.

[Salmonberry]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread. I was curious if there was one of these group threads for my hair type, so I searched for it and here it is! So glad I'm not the only one with hair that doesn't fall into the straight or wavy category. I think my hair type is the number one reason I want to grow it out long again.

The longest I ever had it was just past BSL maybe even MBL, and at the time I blow dried it straight most days. There were the occasional days I didn't though. I saw a picture from years ago when I spent the day at the beach. At that length, it had wonderful loose waves that fell perfectly. With any length shorter than APL my hair misbehaves. It just looks like messy straight hair that's not being taken care of :(. I think this is just one of those hair types that doesn't look good short unless you heat style it in some way (at least for me), and I don't have the patience for that every day. (Don't even get me started on the awful a-line bob a friend talked me into a couple years ago).

I've tried the whole plopping/scrunching while wet to make it wavier and it just turns into a wonky frizzy mess. I've had the best luck just combing it out wet and letting it air dry. Usually when it's completely dry the little halo hairs can be kept to a minimum, but they're still always there.

Also, am I the only 1c/2a that finds their hair gets wavier the longer it gets? It seems counter intuitive, you'd think the added weight would make it straighter, but when mine is short it just looks messy and when it's long it gets really nice loose waves.

[SunlightShines]

Mine does the same thing. It looks so much better when it's long! Currently I'm working with a short bob. Had to cut off a lot of damage in December. So I'm starting out fresh and trying to figure out how to deal with it without heat styling. Since I work in an office it needs to be kept neat. LOL...my hair has never been neat, it's a mess of straight, wavy, frizziness that contradicts itself! Hahaha... My hair is like the starburst commerical...its a contradiction! :laugh:

[Naiadryade]

Ooh, I love this thread.

I've got 2a hair for the most part. The hair framing my face/growing from above my forehead is straighter (1c?) and the hair growing from the nape of my neck is more like 2b. Honestly, I've never had a lot of trouble with it reacting to the weather, and it's never been frizzy. I guess I'm lucky in that regard! But it could also be that since I'm a pretty wild person, I just like the more messy look the slight wave gives. I still adore my hair in this picture from 2008:

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/237_13217737956_559_n.jpg

They called me the windswept revolutionary. :cool: It was really crazy at earlobe length, but I loved that!

My hair has also gotten wavier as it's gotten longer, like you folks were saying. Or yeah, rather, it's turned from messy-straight-but-not-really into actual defined S-waves. I'm a fan. But then, I'm a fan of my hair in general. These days I just envy 2b-2c folks a little bit sometimes, but I can achieve that on oily days with heat-free curl methods pretty easily, so it's okay! I never try to straighten my hair, though. Not interesting and crazy enough for me!

The one time I was really not a fan of my wave was when I cut my waist-length hair to shoulder length when I was 12. It looked great in the salon, of course, because they cut it wet and then blowfried it straight. The next morning I woke up and looked in the mirror... it was straight until ear-level or so, at which point it curved sharply out away from my head for an inch or two before continuing down. It looked like a bell. It was a super-need-to-fit-in age, and I think I cried. I missed my long hair so much, immediately. I ended up blow-drying it straight most of the time for a while.

[Sharysa]

Yay, a thread for other 1c/2a people!

Mine is on the straighter end, with the exception of a few genuine S-waves here and there. (Generally the little tendrils around my face, since they're light and short enough to keep the waves.)

After spending so much time straightening out a pixie cut, layers, or bangs, I have resolved not to have the last two for a good long while. The only problem was that I actually liked the pixie cut; it was my last "actual" style before I got sick of the awkward hair and started growing it out.

I vastly prefer putting my hair in braid-waves because not only do I like the bohemian messy look, waves emphasize my hair's texture WAY better than straight hair does.

[Misschilly]

Can we restart this thread again?!?
I think I belong here but I'm not sure..around sl one side of my hair goes out and one in..it feels like I have some waves when I air dry my hair, but then when I comb it it gets straight..couldn't you guys post some pictures? =)

[bananahanna]

Nope! this is me as well, i had probably BSL hair about a year ago and looking at pictures now i see these crazy defined waves! now that i have a slightly grown out A Line, i have just an awful lithe swoop toward the bottom :(

[Stray_mind]

I am 1c/2a as i recently found out. My hair is straight with weirdly flipped up ends when the air is dry, and when it's humid-it gets waves. When they air dry-they have weird waves, but when i comb it-they are allmost straight,in the places where new baby hair are coming in i even found actual curls!. I don't have any special products though, i like it the way it is, though i secretly hope that those flipped up ends will turn into waves when my hair is long enough. I love wavy hair.

[0xalis]

I'm pretty sure I'm 1c/2a. My hair LOVES to just curl up at the ends, costing me a lot of length. I'm well past collarbone but not quite APL and sometimes the wave and bottom curls cause me to be exactly collarbone :steam My waves are most visible when I have layers. When I was a kid my hair was probably 1b/1c.
I actually quite like the way my hair looks. The waves are very pretty and it doesn't cost me as much length as 2b/2c waves would. I guess it doesn't really matter, with how often I wear my hair up! :lol:
Lucky for me my fringe behaves as long as I comb it wet.

[GG]

Yep, this is me.

I cut a fringe once when I was living overseas in a very cold climate. It looked great. Then I hopped on a plane home, leaving -15C and arriving in 30C+ temps with high humidity and realised exactly why I shouldn't have a fringe!

Other than that, no real complaints. I never try to get it to bend to my will (don't care mostly), and therefore am never disappointed!

[wandlimb]

I think I'm a 1c. My hair isn't poker straight as I thought it was when it was short, and only waves when it feels like it. I have to hairpin it a lot, but even then I still get little fuzzy hairs in a halo all round.

[veryhairyfairy]

I'm a 1c/2a and can I just say, I lovehate my hairtype! :laugh:

I love it because it allows me to keep braid, bun, and etc waves in all day. I hate it because I've always wanted naturally wavy hair, and I can't get it to cooperate with me! :rant:
I'd have to drip dry a soggy, wet, drippy, horribly cold, and heavy blanket of hair for like, 6 hours in order to let my shy little bits of 2a out to play! And Curly Girl methods don't work! Plopping is horrendous no matter how many different ways/lengths of time/products I try, and scrunching is worse!
Here's the waviest I can get my hair to be while still leaving me sane (t shirt turban-ed for an hour or so, left to dry-no touching-, wide tooth combed to separate tentacles):
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af164/veryhairyfairy/whichhair9-2-13_zpsefc312cf.jpg (http://s1004.photobucket.com/user/veryhairyfairy/media/whichhair9-2-13_zpsefc312cf.jpg.html)
(Heck, I've spammed this pic all over the LHC, might as well add it here, too! Also, up close this was a crazy frizzy mess and had to be oiled for polite company... which turned the ends into tentacles again...)

I think I'm going to spend some time going through this thread looking for tips and tricks from my fellow 1c/2a-ers.

[jonnaps]

Lovely hair veryhairyfairy! It seems pretty straight, soft and full!

My hair is 2a and it takes looong time to airdry and I hate the wet hair in my back, but that the way I get nicest waves. If I want to have them wavy and dry in easy way, I blowdry with diffuser. I have a ionic Remington blowdryer and it leaves hair shiny, but I use heat protectant, high heat from war away of hair and low heat or cold if near my scalp and hair. I do not blowdry until desert dry, I leave it a bit moist.

I can easily enhance my waves by scrunching or plopping, but then it also tangles more and I have to comb it so it straightens again...

Here is a picture of my airdryed hair (the ends are not fully dry)

http://s28.postimg.org/l1kerm7zx/tukka11_2texture.jpg (http://postimage.org/) pc screen shot (http://postimage.org/app.php) Ic/2a I think.

[askan]

I'm mostly 1c with soon-to-be APL hair. I'm mostly good friends with my hair. After washing, I use a little gel and scrunching to encourage the waves but as the days pass it gets straighter. It can get a little flippy and "weightless" at times, especially if there are old braidwaves in the picture but I mostly wear it up. I've never tried to make it straighter. When I was a kid and I had a bob, the ends would flip to the left on both sides of my face (thus not symmetrical) so that looked a little funny!

The frizz is one thing though. Little flyaways that are doing their own thing. I use a little gel, or tight fringe braids!

[ashke50]

I think I am 1c, if I let my hair air dry I get a few loose waves, but the canopy stays dead straight. On the downside it means my hair can get a bit frizzy (or fluffy, as I call it!) but on the plus side, it works very well with braid waves or bun waves, and can be easily straightened without heat. I do always get envy of 1a and 2b-c hair, but 1c (or 1c/2a) can be a bit best-of-both-worlds!

[veryhairyfairy]

Oh my, thank you jonnaps! :) I wish I could make my hair look like YOURS!!! :thud: Those are some lovely waves, and I'd put you at 2a, definitely (maybe even 2a/2b?).

"The best of both worlds" is just about the nicest thing I can say about my schizophrenic locks, ashke50. But it is something, isn't it? I wish I wasn't in the middle of the spectrum, but I guess we can enjoy both sides, eh?

[cooklaezo13]

I've given up trying to bring out my weak and pathetic waves for now. Combing my hair a few times while it is drying straightens out the wave and makes my hair silky smooth. It also makes it dry in half the time (three hours instead of six or more) by breaking up the clumps. I just hope that by combing gently and using products for slip, I'm avoiding excess mechanical damage.

[see_turtle]

My hair is 1c/2a....it is always messy! But I like it.


http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz298/see_the_turtle/Hair%20progress/1797241_10100101803282647_1575520066_n_zpsfd9c1d87 .jpg

[veryhairyfairy]

Lovely, see-turtle! I, too, have learned to embrace the messiness. There's nothing else to do unless I want to heat style every 3-4 hours. :lol:
Can I ask what kind of routine you did for your hair in that pic? The reason I ask is because to me, it looks like you're wavier than 1c/2a. I almost want to say it looks like 2a/2b. Either way, I can definitely see your waves (and that makes me envious, but glad for you!). :)

[see_turtle]

Lovely, see-turtle! I, too, have learned to embrace the messiness. There's nothing else to do unless I want to heat style every 3-4 hours. :lol:
Can I ask what kind of routine you did for your hair in that pic? The reason I ask is because to me, it looks like you're wavier than 1c/2a. I almost want to say it looks like 2a/2b. Either way, I can definitely see your waves (and that makes me envious, but glad for you!). :)

That was washed, conditioned,put up in a turbie twist for 10 minutes, combed and worn up (not sure what type of bun that day but I almost always do a version of the log roll held with a ficcare) taken down shaken out and took the pic...it's about 60% wet in the pic that's why its so frizzy

[GoddesJourney]

This hair type really sucks at shorter lengths. All it is is poofy, but appears too straight for that. It just looks shorter and messy. I can't wait to have it long enough to weigh itself down!

[jupiterinleo]

I'm more of a weak 2a, hanging towards the 1c/2a as it gets longer. It doesn't hold its natural waves well (fingercombing results in a 1c look) but it holds braidwaves for days. My signature picture is after a couple days of not touching it at all (just a real quick fingercomb) and it straightened out from bunning. Without conditioner, my whole head would look like that one wavy bit in the middle.

I used to have bangs for a few years, and they looked pretty good on me. But, as you all probably know yourselves, they would wurl in the weirdest ways and I would have to sleep on them in a certain way for them to look ok in the morning. I'm growing them out now.

Does anyone have those random baby-hairs around their forehead that curl out and look like devil horns? I've had them my whole life, and get worse when it's humid.

[GoddesJourney]

^^Yes! Just on each side of the forehead when my hair is pulled back! Sometimes they stick out to the sides but the top stuff tends to lay flatter, so I just get funky side horns...

[Toffeemonster]

I think I'm a 1c-2a, actually I'm just looking for opinions on this, and I guess you guys would know!

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=9776&d=1394801283

What do you think? This is my hair washed, left to air dry and un-brushed. I have tight curls around my face, if I cut it short, it would curl, as a toddler I had a head full of ringlets.

My hair gets super frizzy which is probably my main issue with this hair type, shorter hairs want to curl so they pop out and do their own thing. Sometimes it gets very very big too, just in volume, if I do the wrong thing with it it'll just puff out and try to gobble me up! I don't mind air drying as some have mentioned, it only takes a couple of hours and it's how I've always dried my hair(don't think we had a hair dryer growing up!) I don't try to coax it straight or wavey but it curls easily if in a bun or braid and if I actually curl it, it stays that way for a couple of days. I don't use any products, Iv'e been given them as gifts or bought some as a teenager, nothing works for the frizz! I did have bangs as a teenager and they were wavey but didn't curl in any weird way, I wasn't too precious about them anyway :)

I guess I'm accepting of my hair for the most part, looking at lch has actually given me new appreciation for it and I'm hoping with a new routine, I'll sort out the issues that really bother me.(breakage!!)

[GoddesJourney]

Toffeemonster,

CO saved me from the frizzies for the most part. It's very humid here in Florida, but it seems to work. A lite oiling or leaving a little conditioner in keeps it down on shampoo days. I have never had full ringlets as you have, but I have everything from 1b to 3a if I air dry and dont comb. I don't have a hair dryer either. It just makes me more frizzy anyway.

Are your hairs flat like mine? I know curly hairs tend to be flat, like when you curl ribbons with scissors, but even my straight hairs seem to have this shape. I have never flat ironed or anything, so it must just grow in that way.

...and yes, your hair texture looks exactly like mine when it's long.

[jupiterinleo]

I could never get CO to work for me, but this past wash my hair is finally just how I want, with virtually no frizzies. I did a medium oiling with coconut oil and let it sit for a few hours, washed my hair with the shampoo I just got, conditioned with a light conditioner, and put a few drops of mineral oil in when I get out of the shower. It came out soooo silky. You could do the same with CO.

[dancingpoet]

I'm not sure what my hair type is, but I'm strongly thinking its closer to 1c than I previously thought. Just reading this thread is making me realize. My hair tends to be sort of wavy if I sleep with it wet, but then the moment I brush it, it straightens out, sometimes to this pseudo wavy sort of mess, but by the next day it's usually just straight. If I let it dry in a bun, it end up straight, and if I let it dry in a braid, it will hold braid waves pretty well. It tends to wave up better in the summer when it's more humid, but being that it's still winter, my hair has been behaving like a 1a/b. It won't hold anything. Also, I can attest to the changing wave pattern. When it was between bsl and waist, it seemed sort of wavy, so at some point I cut it to a little past apl, hoping for more waves, but it was actually straighter. I grew it out again, and it got wavier around waist, and once it passed there (it's around hip/tb now) it straightened out again. I would like to find a way to bring the waves out, but the only thing that has worked is having damp hair and going outside and getting rained on on a misty day, and then not touching it at all before it's dry- and even when it is.

[LauraLongLocks]

I think I'm 1c:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b270/Bestbirth/Hair%20Gallery/Hair%20length%20shots/001-1.jpg (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/Bestbirth/media/Hair%20Gallery/Hair%20length%20shots/001-1.jpg.html)

This was taken after washing, fingercombing and air drying. When I comb it or brush it out, it's straighter.

I like this hair type. It's straight, but has some body to it. It holds heatless curls and braidwaves very well, too. No complaints here.

[LauraLongLocks]

Double post.

[lapushka]

I think that's more like 1c/2a, LLL!

[Colourful]

I'm more of a weak 2a, hanging towards the 1c/2a as it gets longer. It doesn't hold its natural waves well (fingercombing results in a 1c look) but it holds braidwaves for days. My signature picture is after a couple days of not touching it at all (just a real quick fingercomb) and it straightened out from bunning. Without conditioner, my whole head would look like that one wavy bit in the middle.

I used to have bangs for a few years, and they looked pretty good on me. But, as you all probably know yourselves, they would wurl in the weirdest ways and I would have to sleep on them in a certain way for them to look ok in the morning. I'm growing them out now.

Does anyone have those random baby-hairs around their forehead that curl out and look like devil horns? I've had them my whole life, and get worse when it's humid.

Those EVIL HORNS! :steam
I know exactly what you're talking about.

[Toffeemonster]

Toffeemonster,

CO saved me from the frizzies for the most part. It's very humid here in Florida, but it seems to work. A lite oiling or leaving a little conditioner in keeps it down on shampoo days. I have never had full ringlets as you have, but I have everything from 1b to 3a if I air dry and dont comb. I don't have a hair dryer either. It just makes me more frizzy anyway.

Are your hairs flat like mine? I know curly hairs tend to be flat, like when you curl ribbons with scissors, but even my straight hairs seem to have this shape. I have never flat ironed or anything, so it must just grow in that way.

...and yes, your hair texture looks exactly like mine when it's long.

I have no idea if my hairs are flat, I've never noticed it and my hair is up neat now so I don't want to take it out to check :)

I am considering switching to CO, I've always felt I need shampoo but I read some convincing evidence it's much better for your hair recently. So I think I'll try it for a few weeks! Normally I'm very bold and don't use conditioner at all.. (although I do apply coconut oil regularly enough)

[Nebulae]

Oh, there's a thread for us! I can definitely relate to a lot of things that have been said here!
In the beginning when I realized I had this hair type I was happy that I hade some sort of wave going on but disappointed that it wasn't wavier. So far I haven't found a good way to enhance my natural wave so I rely on bun- and braidwaves if I wear it loose. As it gets longer it seems to hold on to waves better, which makes me happy! Now if it would create nices waves naturally..

I can't decide really on whether I am a 1c or 2a or in between.. I think it depends on the humidity, actually. I downgraded to 1c this winter but thinking back I did have some 2a bits last summer when I labeled myself as a 1c/2a.

I have a question for all of you with this hair type.. do you use any kind of leave-in? If you do, what kind (oil, conditioner, something else)? Also, does the leave-in affect your wave and in what way?
I'm currently not using any leave-in, but I'm thinking about trying it out. :)

[jupiterinleo]

I have a question for all of you with this hair type.. do you use any kind of leave-in? If you do, what kind (oil, conditioner, something else)? Also, does the leave-in affect your wave and in what way?
I'm currently not using any leave-in, but I'm thinking about trying it out. :)

I use a few drops of baby oil as a leave-in. Honestly, any conditioner whatsoever straightens out my hair, as does combing it. The only time my hair was wavy (wavier than my sig pic) was when I was using a shampoo bar/ACV rinse.

[GoddesJourney]

Toffeemonster, I still shampoo once a week. I have one that is diluted with oil. Sometimes I CWC just for good measure.

Nebulae, I might smooth in a tiny bit of Suave Strawberry or VO5 Pomegranate right before I exit the shower (same I use for CO). Lately, I use a litt avocado or macadamia oil on wet hair.

[houlihan]

Oh gosh, the forehead horns! I'm so glad to have found this thread, because they make me want to shave my head on an almost daily basis. Has anyone come up with any good ways of dealing with them? I tend to end up wetting my fingers and running them through those bits of my hair several times a day to try to keep them in place, but it only works for a couple of hours until I'm back where I started, aaargh.

[Vanilla]

I gave up on having bangs a very long time ago because of the forehead horns. It's a shame because my face shape is really suited to bangs.

Sometimes aloe gel and hairspray would tame them. Mostly they would stay down on their own when my hair was in need of a wash. Maybe panacea or coconut oil would help a bit?

[houlihan]

I've tried using a bit of coconut oil, but it doesn't really work on them. It's lovely on the rest of my hair, but it doesn't flatten the horns, just makes them look more shiny and well defined :( i thought about hairspray, but isn't it meant to be quite bad for hair? I'm kind of a newbie, so I'm still learning what I should and shouldn't put on my locks.

[Anje]

I've tried using a bit of coconut oil, but it doesn't really work on them. It's lovely on the rest of my hair, but it doesn't flatten the horns, just makes them look more shiny and well defined :( i thought about hairspray, but isn't it meant to be quite bad for hair? I'm kind of a newbie, so I'm still learning what I should and shouldn't put on my locks.

Aloe gel is good. Alcohol-free regular gel is a stronger hold if you need it, gentler than hairspray. Plaster those things down!

[summergreen]

I only found out I was wavy when I stopped using cones about a year ago, and I LOVED my devil horns!! I'd always wanted wavy hair and they were like a badge of honour :D

The novelty's worn off now though...

[vpatt]

I feel like I fit better here than with other hair types. I chose 1b until I read this. I have wurls/curls on my neck. I have always thought I had straight, but not really straight hair. And now where have all the 1c/2a's gone? Is there another thread? Have I been abandoned? :confused:

[LauraLongLocks]

I feel like I fit better here than with other hair types. I chose 1b until I read this. I have wurls/curls on my neck. I have always thought I had straight, but not really straight hair. And now where have all the 1c/2a's gone? Is there another thread? Have I been abandoned? :confused:

Still here, just don't have anything else to say about being a 1c right now. Maybe I'll have more to say on it someday, lol.

[elsieivy]

I feel like I fit better here than with other hair types. I chose 1b until I read this. I have wurls/curls on my neck. I have always thought I had straight, but not really straight hair. And now where have all the 1c/2a's gone? Is there another thread? Have I been abandoned? :confused:

Hi, I'm a 1c. My hair has a bit of a body wave and a few unenthusiastic s waves towards the bottom and a few almost curly spots on my nape. I don't hate my hair type but I do wish it didn't always look so messy.

[klcooper17]

I love my 1C/2A hair because it can be really straight or really curly (with heat of course :/) It's a little trickier to figure out styles without heat though...still new territory for me to be heat-free! I'm just barely getting past the awkward "flippy-outty" stage of shoulder length hair. Lots of braids lately... any other suggestions?

[Robi-Bird]

My hair is stick straight when short but when it hit my shoulders it developed some serious personality. The right cut has brought the wave out big time which looks nice and has saved me from the awkward growing out look.

[Betazed]

I'm surprised I hadn't found this thread until now. My hair ranges from 1a (from my crown and up) to 2a (the underneath layers) with everything in between. Until I joined LHC, I loathed my natural texture. I would flat iron it every! single! time! I would wash it (which back then was about every 3 days). I didn't understand why it took so long to grow. I hadn't realized it was actually growing but because of all the abuse, it was breaking off just as quickly. It took me almost 10 years (might be over 10 but I can't quite remember the last time it was cut short) to grow from just brushing my shoulders lenth to just under BSL. I also didn't understand why I would break out in hives after every shampoo. I mean, I got that it was my shampoo and/or conditioner but I had tried oh so many without any noticable change.

ENTER LHC

I switched from conventional products to all natural, sans silicones and sulfates and low and behold! No hives! :happydance: < me after first using my all natural stuffs. I also found that my hair was wavier without so much stuff loading it down. Before, it would just look messy if I air dried. I still have much straigher bits on the very top layer but it isn't as much as it had been. I gave up the heat for good almost 2 months ago now (time to update the siggy). LHC taught me to first tolerate and then love my natural texture. I still wish it would be more uniform sometimes ("If you want to be straight, why cant you all be straight? if you want to wave, why cant you all wave?!") but for the most part, I'm not as hateful towards my hair as I had been.

A big HI to all those who feel the pain of un-uniform hair! :waving:

[ravenheather]

I am definitely feeling the pain of ununiform messy hair. I have been living in a bun or braid lately. Today I tried plopping and some curly girl styling techniques. Fail. Hair did not want to wave today. I will try wearing it straighter tomorrow. I don't want to feel like I look a mess with my hair down.

[flickm]

This is mine a few years ago, after blow drying. Weird, straight on top and wavy underneath, especially at the back. Does this qualify for 1c/2a? Goes very wavy when it's got wet and dried naturally.

http://m1.i.pbase.com/o9/78/646978/1/160435281.tzDXFPvc.2006.jpg

[elsieivy]

This is mine a few years ago, after blow drying. Weird, straight on top and wavy underneath, especially at the back. Does this qualify for 1c/2a? Goes very wavy when it's got wet and dried naturally.

http://m1.i.pbase.com/o9/78/646978/1/160435281.tzDXFPvc.2006.jpg

Considering that picture is with blow drying and probably brushing and such I wouldn't be surprised if you're wavier than 1c/2a!

[flickm]

Considering that picture is with blow drying and probably brushing and such I wouldn't be surprised if you're wavier than 1c/2a!

I'm wavy underneath, but the top and my fringe are pretty straight, even when dried naturally, but curved at the bottom. It's a weird mixture. Goes very wavy if it gets wet, but then those waves relax after a few hours. Gets wavier towards wash day. Also is straighter now I'm hennaing again. I don't understand my hair at all!

[vpatt]

I am having trouble posting. And deciding what to do with my mixed up hair.

[meteor]

I think this is my hairtype, although I'm not entirely sure. My hair has quite a lot of large smooth waves when short-ish, but I haven't had short hair in ages, and it looks 1c/2a when long.

I may be in the minority here, but I absolutely love this hairtype. :joy: It's pretty easy to get poker-straight or wavy with zero heat, and it actually holds those waves in the smooth shape I want. And when worn straight, volume is not a problem, either, because there is a body wave to this hairtype.

The only issue I have is with tangling (it can be pretty bad, especially without cones) and with day 1 styling: when my hair is freshly washed, it's poofy and kind of wiry (?) until I comb it straight or put it in braids for waves or something.

Sure, sometimes I wish I had curls instead but .... I don't want to have all the hassle around managing and styling them! :p Yay for laziness! :toast:

I have a few questions:

- Do you guys prefer coney or cone-free routines?

- Do you do LOC or other leave-in routines?

- Do you prefer wearing your hair straight or coaxing the waves?

- Do you use brushes? If so, which kind(s)?

Thank you! :flower:

[elsieivy]

- Do you guys prefer coney or cone-free routines?

I usually use the Desert Essence coconut conditioner which I think is cone free. https://www.desertessence.com/store/coconut-conditioner#ingredients

- Do you do LOC or other leave-in routines?

I use Panacea as I leave-in.

- Do you prefer wearing your hair straight or coaxing the waves?

I pretty much always wear my hair in a braid or bun and I always braid at night so my hair usually ends up with frizzy waves on the rare times I wear it down.

- Do you use brushes? If so, which kind(s)?

I stropped brushing around a year ago and my hair seems a lot happier now.

I really don't hate my hair; I just wish it was less frizzy. Straight is fine, wavey is fine, but just stop with the frizz!

[meteor]

Thanks a lot, elsieivy! :flowers: That's very helpful.

About the frizz... In my case, I'd probably have a lot of frizz if I didn't use oils & cones and didn't sleep on silky materials. Also, lack of layers seems to help weigh the whole thing down, preventing frizz.
And I had frizz when I brushed. Maybe there are brushes out there that would not cause it... but I don't know how to search for them... :shrug:

[lapushka]

This is mine a few years ago, after blow drying. Weird, straight on top and wavy underneath, especially at the back. Does this qualify for 1c/2a? Goes very wavy when it's got wet and dried naturally.

http://m1.i.pbase.com/o9/78/646978/1/160435281.tzDXFPvc.2006.jpg

You'll need a real hairtyping picture for hairtyping. Wash a regular wash, condition (or don't) and leave it alone as much as possible (no combing, no brushing).

[Arctic]

I think this is my hairtype, although I'm not entirely sure. My hair has quite a lot of large smooth waves when short-ish, but I haven't had short hair in ages, and it looks 1c/2a when long.

I may be in the minority here, but I absolutely love this hairtype. :joy: It's pretty easy to get poker-straight or wavy with zero heat, and it actually holds those waves in the smooth shape I want. And when worn straight, volume is not a problem, either, because there is a body wave to this hairtype.

The only issue I have is with tangling (it can be pretty bad, especially without cones) and with day 1 styling: when my hair is freshly washed, it's poofy and kind of wiry (?) until I comb it straight or put it in braids for waves or something.

Sure, sometimes I wish I had curls instead but .... I don't want to have all the hassle around managing and styling them! :p Yay for laziness! :toast:

I have a few questions:

- Do you guys prefer coney or cone-free routines?

- Do you do LOC or other leave-in routines?

- Do you prefer wearing your hair straight or coaxing the waves?

- Do you use brushes? If so, which kind(s)?

Thank you! :flower:

I'm not quite sure of my type at the moment either, it's straighter than it was the last time I grew it out. I probably should take hair typing photos again. I like this hair type in general, but my own has 2 distinct layers: the canopy is almost straight and the underside is wavier. With my type it ends up looking like SISISI if I let it dry naturally, and that looks stringy and messy :) I tried to tell myself it's rock'n roll and beachy, but it's just messy to my eye (I used to be straightie and have a straight hair identity I guess). Interestingly enough, when I see this same phenomena on others (and it's very common) it does not look bad at all.



- Do you guys prefer coney or cone-free routines?

Most of the time I use cone-free products. Cones build up very quickly on my hair and make it feel unpleasant.


- Do you do LOC or other leave-in routines?

I use my normal conditioner as a leave-in, just a pea-sized drop on wet hair right after shower. (my hair is still quite short) I can't use oils at all, they make my skin break put really badly and cause long term infections. If I blow dry and have time, I might use mousse for sensitive skin, on damp hair.


- Do you prefer wearing your hair straight or coaxing the waves?

My waves just end up looking stringy, producty, tentacley and like an aging rock star, lol, if I try to coax them. I have tried oh so many times and many combos and techniques over the years. If I want waves or curls, I need to curl/set my hair with some method. The last time I grew my hair it was wavier, and then I was able to occasionally get decent waves; my underside was when styled nearing 2c and natually about 2b (canopy was straighter then, too).


- Do you use brushes? If so, which kind(s)?

Yes, I do, but I mostly use wide tooth comb. I have lot of brushes, for different purposes. My favourite is a big paddle brush. When my hair was shorter, I used round brush when blow drying (not on daily basis), but now my hair is long enough to get stuck on the brush. I still might use it to bend my ends as a very last step if I'm doing a full blown (ha ha) blowout. I also have a sort of sceleton brush which I bought in hopes it would speed the blow drying time. It's made or coated with charcoal and should prevent frizzyness. However it feels too hard and unflexible against my head and I don't use it almost ever. I have small oval wooden brush, which is very basic. If I need to pack a brush this is the one I take as it's small and get lot of jobs done. I also have a teasing brush, which I use for smoothing my updos (not for teasing usually). I don't like having so many brushes, I accumulated them because I used to be a comb only girl and wanted to know what different brushes would do. I will probably declutter some of them at some point.

[PrincessBob]

It doesn't behave like ever, and tangles up on itself. At mid calf it can sometimes look pretty straight as the weight pulls it down, but it's still doing its switchback twists and making the worst mats. Golly I know the feelings.

ETA: Maybe I am more 1c than 2a. I've never been able to decide like am I a deep autumn or a cool autumn? Where do I fall on the scale of stwaviness? I don't know.

[two_wheels]

It's humid here in the UK.
All of my known techniques are useless :silly:
Stupid hair.

[Robi-Bird]

I swear, the second I think I have mastered getting my hair up in a nice bun, a la stick or hair pins, my hair reminds me that I am its bitch and up in a clip it goes.

Summer to do list: learn how to braid, for the love of all that is holy.

[Robi-Bird]

- Do you guys prefer coney or cone-free routines? Coney, my hair loves silicones.

- Do you do LOC or other leave-in routines? No. My hair is very oily. Or rather my scalp is. My ends are not dry so I'm good.

- Do you prefer wearing your hair straight or coaxing the waves? As it happens my hair does waves without coaxing with enough layers cut into it.

- Do you use brushes? If so, which kind(s)? Round brush periodically, it's just a cheap brush.

Thank you!

[Robot Ninja]

when my hair is freshly washed, it's poofy and kind of wiry (?) until I comb it straight or put it in braids for waves or something.

Mine too. I need to sleep on it to get it to be nice.

- Do you guys prefer coney or cone-free routines?
Cone-free. I don't get too much tangling and I don't want to have to wash out the cones.

- Do you do LOC or other leave-in routines?
Nope. My regular conditioner doesn't work well as a leave-in and I've been very lazy about finding an actual leave-in.

- Do you prefer wearing your hair straight or coaxing the waves?
I let it run wild and free like nature intended. I don't like wearing my hair straight, and it never stays that way anyway.

- Do you use brushes? If so, which kind(s)?
A BBB before bed. Yes, it results in poof city. Hence, why I do it before bed.

The real benefit of this hairtype is that it looks like I have more hair than I do. So I can get the look of iii hair without having to deal with any of the disadvantages of having iii hair.

[klcooper17]

I'm surprised I hadn't found this thread until now. My hair ranges from 1a (from my crown and up) to 2a (the underneath layers) with everything in between. Until I joined LHC, I loathed my natural texture. I would flat iron it every! single! time! I would wash it (which back then was about every 3 days). I didn't understand why it took so long to grow. I hadn't realized it was actually growing but because of all the abuse, it was breaking off just as quickly. It took me almost 10 years (might be over 10 but I can't quite remember the last time it was cut short) to grow from just brushing my shoulders lenth to just under BSL. I also didn't understand why I would break out in hives after every shampoo. I mean, I got that it was my shampoo and/or conditioner but I had tried oh so many without any noticable change.

ENTER LHC

I switched from conventional products to all natural, sans silicones and sulfates and low and behold! No hives! :happydance: < me after first using my all natural stuffs. I also found that my hair was wavier without so much stuff loading it down. Before, it would just look messy if I air dried. I still have much straigher bits on the very top layer but it isn't as much as it had been. I gave up the heat for good almost 2 months ago now (time to update the siggy). LHC taught me to first tolerate and then love my natural texture. I still wish it would be more uniform sometimes ("If you want to be straight, why cant you all be straight? if you want to wave, why cant you all wave?!") but for the most part, I'm not as hateful towards my hair as I had been.

A big HI to all those who feel the pain of un-uniform hair! :waving:

Hi NicCarpenter! I'm just starting my LHC journey and it sounds like we're close to being hair texture twinsies--any favorite silicone/sulfate free shampoos? Or are you CO/poo free now?

p.s. I love your avatar. I made a Star Trek one for my work avatar (I'm so professional :rolleyes:)

[flickm]

It's humid here in the UK.
All of my known techniques are useless :silly:
Stupid hair.

Humid X two in the Thames Valley. But your hair is gorgeous, wavy all over instead of straight on top, wavy underneath and very wavy at the base of the skull like mine!

[flickm]

You'll need a real hairtyping picture for hairtyping. Wash a regular wash, condition (or don't) and leave it alone as much as possible (no combing, no brushing).

Hi, lapushka. Yes, I looked at the hair typing pics and I'm still confused? My hair is a lot less wavy since I started hennaing too. I wash once a week, no longer blow dry and use a horn comb. I seem to shed vitually no hair now. When I used to brush, even with a boar bristle brush, I used to get a massive amount of hair in the brush each day.

BTW, your avatar is totally intriguing.

[Platzhalter]

- Do you guys prefer coney or cone-free routines?

- Cones all the way, except for my scalp.

- Do you do LOC or other leave-in routines?

- I do LOC almost all the time, as it helps me to make my hair shinier :)

- Do you prefer wearing your hair straight or coaxing the waves?

- Straight of course

- Do you use brushes? If so, which kind(s)?

- Yes... a boar bristle brush to make it look more straight ;)

[meteor]

Thank you so much for answering these questions, guys! Really helpful! :flowers:
And this whole thread is super-informative!



- Do you do LOC or other leave-in routines?
I use my normal conditioner as a leave-in, just a pea-sized drop on wet hair right after shower. (my hair is still quite short) :scissors:

- Do you prefer wearing your hair straight or coaxing the waves?
My waves just end up looking stringy, producty, tentacley and like an aging rock star, lol, if I try to coax them. I have tried oh so many times and many combos and techniques over the years. If I want waves or curls, I need to curl/set my hair with some method. The last time I grew my hair it was wavier, and then I was able to occasionally get decent waves; my underside was when styled nearing 2c and natually about 2b (canopy was straighter then, too).

I like to use rinse-out conditioner as a leave-in, too. When I use up my leave-ins, I'll just use rinse-out products for double-duty. I don't see a significant difference between the ingredients anyway. ;)

About coaxing waves with wavy/curly techniques, I get that product-y feeling too :agree: and can only coax waves for a day and then they look fuzzy/unstructured/messy. Since I stretch washes and sleep in braids anyway, braidwaves seem like the easy way to go for smooth waves.


It doesn't behave like ever, and tangles up on itself. At mid calf it can sometimes look pretty straight as the weight pulls it down, but it's still doing its switchback twists and making the worst mats. Golly I know the feelings.

ETA: Maybe I am more 1c than 2a. I've never been able to decide like am I a deep autumn or a cool autumn? Where do I fall on the scale of stwaviness? I don't know.

Oh yes, with your awesome mid-calf super-thick no-taper & no-layers hair, it must be pretty heavy so it's no surprise if the waves get straightened out.

And I hear you about tangles! Boy, do they make me mad! Because of constant tangle threat, I find that I'm afraid of getting caught in the wind more than getting caught in the rain without an umbrella. I find that living in braided buns and sleeping with hair wrapped in silk helps quite a bit though.


It's humid here in the UK.
All of my known techniques are useless :silly:
Stupid hair.

How exactly does your hair react to this humidity, two_wheels? :)
If, by any chance, it gets frizzy/poofy, LOC-ing with anti-humectants (cones, oils, waxes...) and a bit of gel can help a bit.
Mine just gets oily/flat faster in high humidity, so I wash more often or I do my trusty scalp-only washes. Also, I condition less intensely.


- Do you use brushes? If so, which kind(s)? Round brush periodically, it's just a cheap brush.
It's pretty cool that you can use a round brush, Robi-Bird! :applause I never got the hang of it (due to bad technique coupled with very tangle-prone hair).


The real benefit of this hairtype is that it looks like I have more hair than I do.
Yay! I really love this benefit, too! :D It allows to stretch washes more than I otherwise would, because there is that helpful body wave that doesn't allow hair to look too flat on non-wash days.


- Do you do LOC or other leave-in routines?
- I do LOC almost all the time, as it helps me to make my hair shinier

Same here! :agree: I love the shine, the softness and a bit of shape/control it gives hair on Day 1 for me (which tends to be poofy otherwise). I just need to make sure the amounts of LOC products are small and I spread them well.

This thread is very helpful! :D

[two_wheels]

Ah meteor, I love LOC normally but it doesn't tame my humidifrizz at the moment... maybe time to experiment with slightly more product :)

[meteor]

Ah meteor, I love LOC normally but it doesn't tame my humidifrizz at the moment... maybe time to experiment with slightly more product :)

I think that's a great idea, two_wheels! :agree: Also, playing with moving steps around (LCO might work) or doing more of a LOG (with gel) or changing the products to something more occlusive/anti-humectant might help? :)

Also, pre-poo oiling (to reduce hair's porosity and help the hair's surface stay a bit more hydrophobic) and wearing hair up with a hat/buff/scarf when outside is probably the easiest way without running the risk of overdoing leave-ins...

[two_wheels]

I think that's a great idea, two_wheels! :agree: Also, playing with moving steps around (LCO might work) or doing more of a LOG (with gel) or changing the products to something more occlusive/anti-humectant might help? :)

Also, pre-poo oiling (to reduce hair's porosity and help the hair's surface stay a bit more hydrophobic) and wearing hair up with a hat/buff/scarf when outside is probably the easiest way without running the risk of overdoing leave-ins...

Great ideas! Thankyou :) I'll try...

also thanks flickm! My hair went straighter with henna too. I quite liked it. Shame the colour looked so bad on me. Yours looks nice!

[vpatt]

Two_wheels, how much growth have you had in the past year? From your photo it seems a LOT! It is beautiful, too.

[flickm]

Great ideas! Thankyou :) I'll try...

also thanks flickm! My hair went straighter with henna too. I quite liked it. Shame the colour looked so bad on me. Yours looks nice!

Oh, thank you. sorry it didn't work for you, but yours is gorgeous anyway.

[vpatt]

Flickm, you are rockin' the red .....I love it.

[flickm]

Flickm, you are rockin' the red .....I love it.

gosh - thank you :blushing: My man doesn't like it, I don't look how he's used to seeing me.

[vpatt]

gosh - thank you :blushing: My man doesn't like it, I don't look how he's used to seeing me.

I wish others opinions didn't get to us the way they do. My friend has classic length hair. Yesterday I told her she looks good with it up and she said her husband had not liked her hair up. Sigh

[BoopBoop1]

My hair is really weird! It is like a 1b on the top (top to ear) and then from ear down it can be a 2a or a 2b ._. My bangs are almost always straight, but my lenght is just crazy,hahaha. I only have oils to tame it when it's just out of control, but if it is imposible I braid it T-T

[flickm]

I wish others opinions didn't get to us the way they do. My friend has classic length hair. Yesterday I told her she looks good with it up and she said her husband had not liked her hair up. Sigh

He doesn't stop me. He said something about 'when I grow it out' and I told him I don't intend to, henna is here to stay :)

[alexis917]

If I brush my hair wet with the Wet Brush, and don't scrunch it at all, my hair looks the way it did when it was longer- 1c. I think the water weighs it down when I air dry, as opposed to plopping or diffusing. I kind of prefer the straight hair, I can gauge my length better!

[two_wheels]

Two_wheels, how much growth have you had in the past year? From your photo it seems a LOT! It is beautiful, too.

Thanks! I've been lucky this year. Each of those little stripes is about 0.75" and it's grown 10 stripes, so 7.5"!
The year before was dismal - I hit shoulder in July 2013 - so I'm happy :)

[meteor]

Thanks! I've been lucky this year. Each of those little stripes is about 0.75" and it's grown 10 stripes, so 7.5"!
The year before was dismal - I hit shoulder in July 2013 - so I'm happy :)

Wow! That's amazing, two_wheels! :applause Awesome progress! :D
Did you do anything different this year from last?

[two_wheels]

Wow! That's amazing, two_wheels! :applause Awesome progress! :D
Did you do anything different this year from last?

Well... I bought a lot of hairsticks and that helped me to wear it up every day without getting bored! :lol:
I think the wave got weighed down & stretched out a bit too. Other than that, I think it's just good luck :)

[meteor]

^ Great! :D Thanks a lot, two_wheels! For sure, protecting the ends in buns is perfect for length retention! :agree:
I remember when I first came to the LHC I wasn't even sure that putting hair up was a good thing, but now, I'm definitely a convert! :D

[Arctic]

I was curious and took new hairtyping photos today. The last time was in 2007 :) I have multitextured hair, and it doesn't quite fit into the given categories, but how does the overall effect look to your eye? What do you guys think? Can I call it 1c/2a?

LINK: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=122375


(I used to have straight hair, then it got wavy and at the waviest I think I called it 2a/2b and some parts of it were probably 2c too. Now it's a bit less wavy again, but actually these photos prove I have more waves than I though at the moment.)

[elsieivy]

Arctic, I'm terrible at hair typing but your hair looks like at least 2a in the under layer and the top maybe more like 1c. Some parts of the older pictures look like 2b. Very pretty hair and your dog is adorable.

[yahirwaO.o]

I was curious and took new hairtyping photos today. The last time was in 2007 :) I have multitextured hair, and it doesn't quite fit into the given categories, but how does the overall effect is to your eye? What do you guys think? Can I call it 1c/2a?

LINK: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=122375


(I used to have straight hair, then it got wavy and at the waviest I think I called it 2a/2b and some parts of it were probably 2c too. Now it's a bit less wavy again, but actually these photos prove I have more waves than I though at the moment.)

I think its the first time I got the chance to see your hair Artic its so silky and shiny that makes me smile :o, it reminds me of mine but in light brown!!!! Love the diagonal fishtail braid, Im gonna give it a try with my shorter hair !!!!!

And yes, some this happen all the time to straivys straight on top and wavy underneath!

[Arctic]

Arctic, I'm terrible at hair typing but your hair looks like at least 2a in the under layer and the top maybe more like 1c. Some parts of the older pictures look like 2b. Very pretty hair and your dog is adorable.

Thank you! It might just be, that for once my hair could actually fit into a category, and be 1c/2a. I have usually had to compromise. That would be great! (My dog also kindly thanks, she would bring you a ball to throw if she could, I'm sure!)



I think its the first time I got the chance to see your hair Artic its so silky and shiny that makes me smile :o, it reminds me of mine but in light brown!!!! Love the diagonal fishtail braid, Im gonna give it a try with my shorter hair !!!!!

And yes, some this happen all the time to straivys straight on top and wavy underneath!

Ha ha, yeah, I don't post my photos much on the forum, but there are plenty in my blog. Thank you for the compliments, especially since these were hair typing photos :D I'm flattered my hair reminds you of yours :flowers:

Hope you like the braid in real life too; it's a bit slow to braid, but 100% worth it!

[flickm]

I was curious and took new hairtyping photos today. The last time was in 2007 :) I have multitextured hair, and it doesn't quite fit into the given categories, but how does the overall effect is to your eye? What do you guys think? Can I call it 1c/2a?

LINK: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=122375


(I used to have straight hair, then it got wavy and at the waviest I think I called it 2a/2b and some parts of it were probably 2c too. Now it's a bit less wavy again, but actually these photos prove I have more waves than I though at the moment.)

that could be pictures of my hair, straight on top, curvy at the ends, very wavy underneath

[meteor]

I was curious and took new hairtyping photos today. The last time was in 2007 :) I have multitextured hair, and it doesn't quite fit into the given categories, but how does the overall effect look to your eye? What do you guys think? Can I call it 1c/2a?

Yes, I think overall it looks like 1c/2a, too. :) (But I'm not good at hairtyping, so don't take my word for it. :) )
Such lovely hair! :D

[Arctic]

that could be pictures of my hair, straight on top, curvy at the ends, very wavy underneath

Cool! Do you also have different thicknesses of individual hairs? I have everything from fine to medium to coarse, and any of these can be also wiry. :) It would be great to find a hair twin!

[Arctic]

Yes, I think overall it looks like 1c/2a, too. :) (But I'm not good at hairtyping, so don't take my word for it. :) )
Such lovely hair! :D

Thank you, nice to get confirmation my instinct was right! I actually have not seen my hair in this natural state in ages, I almost never let dry without touching. I either comb, bun, braid or blowdry. :)

[jupiterinleo]

Gets wavier towards wash day.

I'm the opposite; mine gets straighter towards wash day. As soon as I touch it at all it straightens out into a 1c even though on wash day I'm a 2a.

In other news. I've given up on trying to keep my waves. I just go with my hair's flow now. The only way I can keep my waves is if I don't touch it at all the entire week, which is completely impossible due to my thickness/typing. I am satisfied with bun + braid waves and that's all that matters. :pegasus:

[flickm]

Cool! Do you also have different thicknesses of individual hairs? I have everything from fine to medium to coarse, and any of these can be also wiry. :) It would be great to find a hair twin!

Mine used to be like that. I went through massive hair loss during a period of stress and my hair shut down, growing much finer. It's recovering now and i'm noticing more variation in individual strands agian, but not as much as when i was really young, when i had fine at the front, medium on the top layer, and individual bright copper wiry hairs.

[RoseOfClare]

When I was pregnant I didn't realize hair type would change I was originally a 1a/1b now I'm a 1c/2a and not knowing how to deal with the new hair type is what caused me to chop all my hair off....hopefully I can get some tips from those with experience! !

[Leseratte]

I have a question.. I have these kinky and coarse new hairs growing on the top of my head that do NOT want to behave. They go in weird kinks with weird bends every which direction. They are currently mostly between 3"-5" long now (my overall hair length is down to my waist). Consequently, I have a perpetual "halo". Does anyone else have this problem and have found a solution to it?

[Wosie]

Yes, Leseratte, yes! This is something I struggle with all the time. They don't have much of a uniform look to them, which would've made them more OK in my book, they're random-looking and coarse. Very unsightly, and I try to cut off many of them where they start to have a more reasonable shape to them, but of course one cannot destroy them all. ;| As mine are coarse, they are quite noticeable as well. I have no idea how to make them lie down better; I just wanted to sympathise. :blossom:

[two_wheels]

Damp bunning makes my coarse hair lie flatter. So does a *tiny* amount of gel applied to wet hair before drying. Like a pea sized amount.

[juniperjetcat]

I have always had issues with my weather sensitive hair but since I started water washing only back in May I have seen a massive and positive difference. My hair is more controllable now. I love my hair whereas before WO my hair really depressed me

[lithostoic]

I find it fairly easy to coax it into being completely straight, not for long though. Starts to get flippy, like skater boy hair. Getting it to be uniformly wavy is a lot tougher. The right side of my head is much flatter.

[Arctic]

Had a look 'round, and didn't see any other threads for us 1c/2a'ers! How do you deal with your fickle, weather-sensitive, 1c/2a hair?

1. Do you find it hard to decide whether to coax your hair into straightness, or waviness?
2. Do you have days where it's not straight (from dry weather) or wavy (from wet weather) but just a weird, flippy, twisty in-between ?
3. Are bangs a nightmare, because sometimes they hang straight, sometimes they curl weirdly, and sometimes they *insist* on flipping out like devils' horns, no matter what you do to them?
4. Do you have an arsenal of products (natural or conventional) to deal with your fickle, moody, changeable hair?
If this sounds like you, come on in, and share! :)

Hey a thread for me, thanks for bumping it!

I think I'm not pure 1c/2a type, but it's an avarage I have chosen. I have evertyhing from 1b to 2b, and some years ago, before my pixie cut, when I was really trying to encourage the waves, it was actually very wavy probably 2b/2c.

I'm not sure what happened, has my hair type changed again (previously I was a straightie before the waves started to happen) or is it just the hair care methods at play, as I haven't really been encouraging the waves anymore in constant, long term way. I occasionally have tried in the past 2 years, to encourage the waves as one time events (not consistently) and my hair laughts at me and gives what I call an "aged rock star" hair.

I don't know where that association came from, but my irregularly wavy hair with it's straigter canopy hanging stringily over and between the wavier underside just looks messy and unattractive to me. I know many people love the look (beach waves!) and rock it - rock stars included, so I'm not snubbing rock stars or anyone else, I just can help it but I don't feel attractive when my hair is like that.

1. So no, I don't have hard time deciding into which direction I try to nudge my hair. It is always on the straigter direction or letting it be without trying to make it curlier. I do like bun and braid waves though, but I wouldn't really call that coaxing towards waviness. I like my hair in every way BUT on the times when I coax it to wave more. (At the time when my hair was bordering 2b/2c I didn't really have hard time either, because my waves were so strong I wasn't able to coax them straighter even if I would have wanted to.)

2. My hair isn't really reactive to weather. It's never 100% straight naturally, and it's always flippy and bendy, and it's always inbetween it seems, but I have learned to like that natural texture.

3. My bangs wouldn't be a nightmare because they would be cut in from my canopy hair, which is naturally pretty straight.

4. I do have some styling products, but nothing really specific to wavy hair. I'd like to mention protein and silicone free leave-in conditioner though, I believe that my habit of using that on sopping wet hair, before towel drying, helps my hair (espcially my corser and/or wiry hairs) to be more smooth.

[ETA: LOL, of course I just now noticed that I had already posted in this thread, but I had not taken the original quizz yet, so it's all good :D]

[lithostoic]

I've found that my hair retains its wave much more when I rinse with water only and let the sebum coat the entire length of my hair. Gives it texture and isn't as easily weighed down. I'll post comparison pics when I get them.

Edit: Here's my unmanipulated hair after a WO rinse. Last shampood on Weds and water rinsed yesterday as well.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AZpOM8GKqaQ/VsqwZWbv5BI/AAAAAAAABCU/SLQnDcEGpwg/w300-h533-no/20160222_013939_HDR.jpg

Here is my unmanipulated hair after s/c on Weds. See the difference?

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Jc6RX0Y4d34/VsYaxREuOvI/AAAAAAAAA9o/Kr_x_vvxlEs/w300-h533-no/16%2B-%2B1

[Arctic]

I don't think one is particularly wavier than other. The shampooed hair is fluffier, which I personally like more. Sebum-y/WOed is more densely packed (wave clumps stick together more) and against your head.

[lithostoic]

I don't think one is particularly wavier than other. The shampooed hair is fluffier, which I personally like more. Sebum-y/WOed is more densely packed (wave clumps stick together more) and against your head.

Well personally I can see several defined waves whereas the shampood version is more amorphous.

[Arctic]

Yes, more defined waves, but the other isn't less wavy, only more fluffy. I can see they look different.

[lithostoic]

Yikes, sometimes my hair is just frizzy rather than being straight or wavy.

[Pol]

So fellow 1c/2a-ers, let's play a game of Wavy/Not Wavy! This is inspired by Vpatt's fabulous description of 'wave wannabies' (lol!) - basically just make a list of the things your hair is wavy enough to do or not wavy enough to do! Or something like that... Make up the rules yourself, basically :D I'll get started...

My hair is wavy enough to clump but NOT wavy enough to look good doing so!

My hair is wavy enough to give me volume, but not too wavy I can't look sleek if I want to

My hair is wavy enough that it doesn't look straight, but not wavy enough to look like a genuine style statement!

My hair is wavy enough to be unpredictable, but not wavy enough to be untameable

Anyone else want to play? Good and annoying things about our hair type are both encouraged in the game!

[lithostoic]

My hair is wavy enough to be brushed straight ... But not for long lol.

[yahirwaO.o]

I sometimes think my hair could fall into 1C semi 2A waves, I notice, sometimes, when I do the turban thing it does give some solid waves. If I just towel it flat and squeeze gently, my hair does dry way straighter!

But yeah stravy hair could be the name of this! LOL

[Pol]

My hair is wavy enough to be brushed straight ... But not for long lol.

Haha! I know that feeling well...

[vpatt]

So fellow 1c/2a-ers, let's play a game of Wavy/Not Wavy! This is inspired by Vpatt's fabulous description of 'wave wannabies' (lol!) - basically just make a list of the things your hair is wavy enough to do or not wavy enough to do! Or something like that... Make up the rules yourself, basically :D I'll get started...

My hair is wavy enough to clump but NOT wavy enough to look good doing so!

My hair is wavy enough to give me volume, but not too wavy I can't look sleek if I want to

My hair is wavy enough that it doesn't look straight, but not wavy enough to look like a genuine style statement!

My hair is wavy enough to be unpredictable, but not wavy enough to be untameable

Anyone else want to play? Good and annoying things about our hair type are both encouraged in the game!

Lol, how did I miss responding to this. I think I agree with all your statements! I used to say 'I have straight hair that is not really straight'. That was way back when I used a dryer to try making it straighter.

I'm not sure if my hair clumps, but it separates into sections that I don't like because I think it looks thinner that way. And brushing fixes that....for about a minute and a half.

So I think I have some wavy negatives with few wavy benefits. But its still my hair and I like it. Wannabes and all, lol.

[Entangled]

My hair's wavy enough to frizz, but not enough to look good wavy.

My hair's wavy enough to clump ("go brush your hair!") but not enough to look resist brushing' straightening effect.

My hair's texture is like a really tiny breeze on muddy water. Enough to muss it but not enough for any uniform, distinct awesomeness like you'd see in a real storm (curly and wurly)

[Wosie]

So fellow 1c/2a-ers, let's play a game of Wavy/Not Wavy! This is inspired by Vpatt's fabulous description of 'wave wannabies' (lol!) - basically just make a list of the things your hair is wavy enough to do or not wavy enough to do! Or something like that... Make up the rules yourself, basically :D I'll get started...

My hair is wavy enough to clump but NOT wavy enough to look good doing so!

My hair is wavy enough to give me volume, but not too wavy I can't look sleek if I want to

My hair is wavy enough that it doesn't look straight, but not wavy enough to look like a genuine style statement!

My hair is wavy enough to be unpredictable, but not wavy enough to be untameable

Anyone else want to play? Good and annoying things about our hair type are both encouraged in the game!


My hair's wavy enough to frizz, but not enough to look good wavy.

My hair's wavy enough to clump ("go brush your hair!") but not enough to look resist brushing' straightening effect.

My hair's texture is like a really tiny breeze on muddy water. Enough to muss it but not enough for any uniform, distinct awesomeness like you'd see in a real storm (curly and wurly)

I say "yipyip, definitely!" to both of these. :agree:

My hair has got a nice, somewhat uniform wave after I've washed it, but after sleeping on it, it turns mostly straight with a few ripples of wave here and there (mostly on top of my head).

If I try 'plopping' it, it seems my hair get less wavy.

The longer my hair gets, the more 1c it turns.

I think I could define my hair as a solid 1c/2a these days (so I'll go ahead and change it), as it's become so long that my 'weak 2a' hair doesn't have the strength to be 2a anymore. I'd have to cut it to at least APL for some more uniform waves, I think... Or maybe add layers, so that it was more free to do what it wants. x)

[Pol]

Lol, how did I miss responding to this. I think I agree with all your statements! I used to say 'I have straight hair that is not really straight'. That was way back when I used a dryer to try making it straighter.

I'm not sure if my hair clumps, but it separates into sections that I don't like because I think it looks thinner that way. And brushing fixes that....for about a minute and a half.

So I think I have some wavy negatives with few wavy benefits. But its still my hair and I like it. Wannabes and all, lol.

I'm glad you chipped in Vpatt!
I know what you mean about brushing only working for a minute! I find my hair looks better when I comb it for the most part, I've given up with brushes (for now...!). Straight, but not really straight could be another name for this game! :D


My hair's wavy enough to frizz, but not enough to look good wavy.

My hair's wavy enough to clump ("go brush your hair!") but not enough to look resist brushing' straightening effect.

My hair's texture is like a really tiny breeze on muddy water. Enough to muss it but not enough for any uniform, distinct awesomeness like you'd see in a real storm (curly and wurly)

Haha! A really tiny breeze on muddy water... your poor hair, what a description! Made me laugh though. I know what you mean about the awesomeness of truly curly and wurly hair... we're so close, but so far... My mother seems to think I never comb or brush my hair... I am 31 and she still asks me if I've brushed my hair when I see her!


I say "yipyip, definitely!" to both of these. :agree:

My hair has got a nice, somewhat uniform wave after I've washed it, but after sleeping on it, it turns mostly straight with a few ripples of wave here and there (mostly on top of my head).

If I try 'plopping' it, it seems my hair get less wavy.

The longer my hair gets, the more 1c it turns.

I think I could define my hair as a solid 1c/2a these days (so I'll go ahead and change it), as it's become so long that my 'weak 2a' hair doesn't have the strength to be 2a anymore. I'd have to cut it to at least APL for some more uniform waves, I think... Or maybe add layers, so that it was more free to do what it wants. x)

I'll be interested to see what happens to my hair texture as it grows out some more, I suspect will change. I've tried 'plopping' too, and whilst it does nothing for my lengths I do feel it defines the waves at my roots (for the first few inches of hair), which I quite like. Any kind of brushing/combing pulls my waves out, but I'm still left with some volume and texture so it's not all bad. I wash my hair in the evening and sleep in a braid - the braidwaves I get the next day are pretty similar to my natural (untouched) wave pattern. Cheat waves!

Thanks for the answers everyone - enjoying reading this!

[lithostoic]

Anyone have any tips to bring out what little wave I have? I find it straightens over the period of a few days until I get it wet again.

[vpatt]

Anyone have any tips to bring out what little wave I have? I find it straightens over the period of a few days until I get it wet again.

I bought Shea Moisture Curling Gel Souffle. I put it in my hair and scrunched it and I believe it helped quite a bit. But I didn't like that it dried hard. So I mixed it with water and aloe Vera gel and sprayed it in my damp hair and scrunched it. I liked it better and was able to comb through it with my TT when I chose to. I think it is $10-$12 for a small tub and it lasts a long time. Another product I haven't tried in a while (because my daughter took it) is EcoStyle gel. It was much more economical and didn't leave my hair stiff. Of course combing takes the wave out. But if you can get your waves back by wetting it with plain water that sounds much easier to me.

I know that my daughter who has real curls does not brush her hair and I believe only combs it when she co-washes. But due to the "uniqueness" of my 1c-2a hair it tends to look messy all the time and I use the TT out of desperation. If I don't comb my hair wet when I wash it then it has more waves, but is even more messy looking.

And if you look under recipes on this site you may find something that will interest you. I am not sure if there is a recipe for a curl enhancer.

[lithostoic]

Did a variant of the LOC method (soaking wet from shower, argan oil, conditioner) and plopped for 20 minutes. It was still at least 50% wet when I took it down to air dry.

Lo and behold, waves! They fell a lot as they dried, the pics are dry hair. I think I may be a wavy in disguise. Likely just 1c/2a because of my mixed texture. What do you think?

https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/12987185_1304040912945991_3973332093236814827_n.jp g?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=4e1ab5da5c07228ecf4a8b7e6b3c546d&oe=57BF5396

https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlf1/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/13087387_1304040942945988_7800045085018801461_n.jp g?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=b9d7138ced37a9a166960065a33a45d9&oe=57B0AFC2

[lapushka]

For hair typing you need "unprocessed" hair, so shampoo, conditioner, towel dry, and leave alone - no scrunching, no plopping, no bringing out the waves. So we can't type you according to these results. Sorry.

[DoomKitty]

I think I belong here...I get some serious waves if I let my hair dry without touching it. I cant/don't know how to attach a pic lol

[PixieP]

I think I belong here...I get some serious waves if I let my hair dry without touching it. I cant/don't know how to attach a pic lol

Make a photobucket-account (or imgur, or tinypic, or make an album on your Facebook that only you can see). Right-click the picture and choose "copy image link". Then when writing a post, click on the little icon that looks like a picture of a tree, and paste in the URL of your picture. It's show up in the post in a code, but when you click post it'll show up :)


I'm joining this thread :D I found out recently I'm a 1c/2a :D Here's my most recent typing photo:

http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t503/misherusedai/99B60848-1870-49DA-A0B3-AEBFA81B166A_zpstvb4c3oo.jpg

Sadly it still only looks like that right after a wash with a complete airdry. I bun it for sleeping, and then all my natural waves disappear again. I'm gonna try experimenting today with making a misting bottle to see if I can make them appear again the day after a wash!

[Arctic]

For me, one of the best aspects of this hair type is its ability to be shaped/styled. My natural waves don't always looks so hot (my canopy is almost straight while my waves are underneath mostly), but after a little bunning it looks great. Also looks great with braid waves. Takes curls easily but I can also get it straight-ish with just blowdrying on warm/cool (even without brushing).

People always say to embrace the natural texture, but they seem to think most of the time, that one "should not" manipulate the texture. But I think it's not neccessarily so. I do agree that accepting one's hairtype is important for many reasons, but to me it doesn't neccessarily mean not styling my hair. Like I said, to me the fact (at least fact on my hair) that it's easy to change the texture without damage is one of the biggest advantages, and I enjoy it tremendously. To me that is also embracing my natural texture, the natural qualities my hair has. I don't see things in black and white - either or kind of way. This is especially true because I had a straight 1b hairtype 30 years, which could and would not hold a curl or wave to save my life, and now I enjoy playing with my texture.

I do wear my natural waves too, but usually brushed out.

Oh, and for me, any methods encouraging my natural wave have not worked, since they do nothing to the straigter parts of my hair. I have given up on that and apart from few times a year experiments, I never encourage my wave again - its useless waste of time for me.

My favourite method these days to style my hair, if I want to wear it down, is to blow dry it to almost dry, then put it in a cinnabun or two while I do my make up, then release the hair, and I have nice big smooth waves.

[Robot Ninja]

I think I belong here...I get some serious waves if I let my hair dry without touching it. I cant/don't know how to attach a pic lol

You can also upload the pic to your album, if you don't want it to be visible to non-members.



Sadly it still only looks like that right after a wash with a complete airdry. I bun it for sleeping, and then all my natural waves disappear again. I'm gonna try experimenting today with making a misting bottle to see if I can make them appear again the day after a wash!

Ah yes, the endless struggle of a 1c/2a. "I had waves but now they're gone!" Welcome to the club.

[PixieP]

Well I brought them back with my spray bottle mix, so it's all good ;D

[lapushka]

I'm joining this thread :D I found out recently I'm a 1c/2a :D Here's my most recent typing photo:

http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t503/misherusedai/99B60848-1870-49DA-A0B3-AEBFA81B166A_zpstvb4c3oo.jpg

Sadly it still only looks like that right after a wash with a complete airdry. I bun it for sleeping, and then all my natural waves disappear again. I'm gonna try experimenting today with making a misting bottle to see if I can make them appear again the day after a wash!

You could try enhancing the wave on your wash day by scrunching in styling product. Like a mousse, or a gel. The LOC method is basically great for that (see signature). Then when you just use a spray bottle on it with water the next day, it "reactivates" the products you put in.

[PixieP]

I have yet to find a mousse or gel that my hair likes, everything like that seems to weigh down my hair and make it seem thinner o.O I scrunch in a bit of aloe gel now though.

[lapushka]

I have yet to find a mousse or gel that my hair likes, everything like that seems to weigh down my hair and make it seem thinner o.O I scrunch in a bit of aloe gel now though.

Eco Styler is a great gel. No silicone, no alcohol. You can get it from specialized hair shops (I use pakshop.eu these days) or on ebay. It's available in about 200gr, 400gr, or 1000gr pots, so be sure to check the amount and the price when you buy. IC Fantasia gel is also great (does have silicones). LA Looks gel is also great. You'll have to scour ebay for that one.

Basically *any* gel that has no alcohol in it is fine!

[littlestarface]

Does anyone else have wavy hair on top in the middle of hair or is it only me?

I always see everyone say their hair is wavier below the canopy but mine is wavy on the top layer of hair only in the middle part, then the ends get straight and the under layer of my hair is straight like no wave at all.

-~- < So something like that but not sideways :lol:

[teela1978]

For me, one of the best aspects of this hair type is its ability to be shaped/styled. My natural waves don't always looks so hot (my canopy is almost straight while my waves are underneath mostly), but after a little bunning it looks great. Also looks great with braid waves. Takes curls easily but I can also get it straight-ish with just blowdrying on warm/cool (even without brushing).

People always say to embrace the natural texture, but they seem to think most of the time, that one "should not" manipulate the texture. But I think it's not neccessarily so. I do agree that accepting one's hairtype is important for many reasons, but to me it doesn't neccessarily mean not styling my hair. Like I said, to me the fact (at least fact on my hair) that it's easy to change the texture without damage is one of the biggest advantages, and I enjoy it tremendously. To me that is also embracing my natural texture, the natural qualities my hair has. I don't see things in black and white - either or kind of way. This is especially true because I had a straight 1b hairtype 30 years, which could and would not hold a curl or wave to save my life, and now I enjoy playing with my texture.

I do wear my natural waves too, but usually brushed out.

Oh, and for me, any methods encouraging my natural wave have not worked, since they do nothing to the straigter parts of my hair. I have given up on that and apart from few times a year experiments, I never encourage my wave again - its useless waste of time for me.

My favourite method these days to style my hair, if I want to wear it down, is to blow dry it to almost dry, then put it in a cinnabun or two while I do my make up, then release the hair, and I have nice big smooth waves.

I'm with you. Waves from buns kinda make my hair. I don't bother with styling really, but tend to extend washes using dry shampoo. My hair is constantly in and out of buns, and by day 3 or 4 my ends are glorious lovely waves that stick around. I think having some wave in the first place helps the bun waves to stick with time. It's nice after a wash as well, feels softer, but I prefer the look after a few days.

[meteor]

For me, one of the best aspects of this hair type is its ability to be shaped/styled.


I'm with you. Waves from buns kinda make my hair. I don't bother with styling really, but tend to extend washes using dry shampoo. My hair is constantly in and out of buns, and by day 3 or 4 my ends are glorious lovely waves that stick around. I think having some wave in the first place helps the bun waves to stick with time. It's nice after a wash as well, feels softer, but I prefer the look after a few days.

I couldn't agree more! :agree: I love this hairtype because it's incredibly easy to manipulate it into shapes that I want. I know some people with poker-straight hair who have never been able to make their hair hold a tight curl for longer than an hour! And I know curlies who struggle a lot if they want to fully straighten hair just for one day without any damaging practices...
But this hairtype is so easy to wet-set! Scarf/Rag curls, braid-outs, bun-waves, straw-curls, all sorts of roller-sets,... you name it - it's easy to do and it can hold for days even without any product! Granted, now that my hair is mid-thigh length it's so heavy that very tight curls fall out right away, but they were still doable even at waist-length or so, so it's not too bad. :)
My personal favorite wet-setting technique at this length is braid-waves, because it's so easy: I use a bit of conditioner, dilute it with water, spray it on hair and start putting hair into a few English braids (smaller around the face/canopy and much larger in the back/nape). Then I can put those braids up into some braided updo (braided bun or coronets or some combination of those) and take the braids down the next morning and the waves hold for a very long time.
And if I want my hair to be very straight, I just make sure to comb it out while it's drying after a wash with a bit of oil/silicone serum. ;)


Does anyone else have wavy hair on top in the middle of hair or is it only me?

I always see everyone say their hair is wavier below the canopy but mine is wavy on the top layer of hair only in the middle part, then the ends get straight and the under layer of my hair is straight like no wave at all.

-~- < So something like that but not sideways :lol:

^ Yep, that's my situation, too. :agree: I think it's pretty normal. But yes, I remember growing up people would tell me that my hair is quite wavy and I couldn't understand what they meant, until I saw it from the back - there are smooth large S-waves in the back on the canopy, but the face framing lighter, finer hair is pretty straight and my underlayers are glassy smooth-straight, so I assumed that all my hair was straight... I think it's pretty normal to have multi-textured hair, actually.

[vampyyri]

I really hated my hairtype until I realized that it has its perks. When it doesn't want to cooperate, just throw it into a bun it holds bun waves super well!

[Robot Ninja]

I couldn't agree more! :agree: I love this hairtype because it's incredibly easy to manipulate it into shapes that I want.

See, I can't do that. My hair has never held a proper curl for long, even when it was shorter and not damaged from dye, and it doesn't stay straight for long either unless I load it down with so much gunk that it gets all stringy and gross-looking.


^ Yep, that's my situation, too. :agree: I think it's pretty normal. But yes, I remember growing up people would tell me that my hair is quite wavy and I couldn't understand what they meant, until I saw it from the back - there are smooth large S-waves in the back on the canopy, but the face framing lighter, finer hair is pretty straight and my underlayers are glassy smooth-straight, so I assumed that all my hair was straight... I think it's pretty normal to have multi-textured hair, actually.

I am the opposite of you as far as multi-textured hair goes. Of course, I have bangs, so my face-framing hairs don't have any length pulling out the wave, but my shorter nape hairs are straight, the rest of the underlayer is wavy, and the canopy has no idea what the hell it's doing. When I was younger I had actual curls behind my ears, (which my one brother described as "curly like a telephone cord") but then I got a mohawk and they grew back straivy.

[PixieP]

The waves I got from my misting bottle today:

http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t503/misherusedai/0CB1DF44-EF80-4407-96E3-E08210AA7AE3_zps8xqvbrrq.jpg

(and look at how that blue wall makes my colour glow ;D )

[DoomKitty]

You can also upload the pic to your album, if you don't want it to be visible to non-members.



Ah yes, the endless struggle of a 1c/2a. "I had waves but now they're gone!" Welcome to the club.

Thanks Robot Ninja, I've set up an album. Most of my waves had fallen out by this morning after being loosely braided :rolleyes:

[DoomKitty]

The waves I got from my misting bottle today:

http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t503/misherusedai/0CB1DF44-EF80-4407-96E3-E08210AA7AE3_zps8xqvbrrq.jpg

(and look at how that blue wall makes my colour glow ;D )


Your hair is so pretty!

[Robot Ninja]

So I've been using the "squish to condish" method for the last few weeks and have found it lets me use my regular conditioner as a leave-in without making my hair all gunky and stringy. Yay. Today I let it dry without combing, and look! It remembered it's wavy!

http://i.imgur.com/vwAvZZO.jpg

It's going to forget again before long, but I just had to share while it lasts.

[vampyyri]

So I've been using the "squish to condish" method for the last few weeks and have found it lets me use my regular conditioner as a leave-in without making my hair all gunky and stringy. Yay. Today I let it dry without combing, and look! It remembered it's wavy!


Silly question, but what exactly is "squish to condish"? Is it basically scrunching hair?

[Robot Ninja]

Silly question, but what exactly is "squish to condish"? Is it basically scrunching hair?

Basically scrunching in conditioner in the shower. If you search it there's a recent thread about it somewhere.

[MoniLein]

I really hated my hairtype until I realized that it has its perks. When it doesn't want to cooperate, just throw it into a bun it holds bun waves super well!

I agree, my hair is just like that!



http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y370/istris83/Frisuren/2016-05-22_zpsvfvy1gq8.jpg (http://s1030.photobucket.com/user/istris83/media/Frisuren/2016-05-22_zpsvfvy1gq8.jpg.html)

[vampyyri]

I tried to dry my hair today without touching it to see what it would do... and alas, no waves. I'm pretty sure I'm a solid 1c because my hair flicks out at the ends, and some of the layers have that same flick. But the waviness that I had when it was shorter and layered is gone. :rip:

ETA: Nope, totally wrong, was treating my hair wrong, it's 1c/2a

[lithostoic]

Doubting my texture again .... Seems to be retaining its wave (and getting more waves) as it gets longer instead of pulling straight.

[Decoy24601]

Well, I think I'll be joining this thread. I just found out that my guess of 1b was wrong based on the hair typing thread I just made, and I'm likely somewhere around 1c/2a depending on the day and what conditioners/oils I use in my hair.

Does anyone else find that their hair is bipolar and can't decide whether it wants to be very wavy and frizzy or straight and frizzy? I've always thought that it's like my hair wants to be curly but doesn't know how because of how frizzy it gets.

Frizz-pic:
http://i.imgur.com/tdWBu9N.png

[vampyyri]

Well, I think I'll be joining this thread. I just found out that my guess of 1b was wrong based on the hair typing thread I just made, and I'm likely somewhere around 1c/2a depending on the day and what conditioners/oils I use in my hair.

Does anyone else find that their hair is bipolar and can't decide whether it wants to be very wavy and frizzy or straight and frizzy? I've always thought that it's like my hair wants to be curly but doesn't know how because of how frizzy it gets.

Frizz-pic:
http://i.imgur.com/tdWBu9N.png

Telltale sign of 1c/2a... frizz is usually waves if you're brushing it out! It's straight-ish, it's wavy... it doesn't know what it wants! :lol:

[Decoy24601]

Telltale sign of 1c/2a... frizz is usually waves if you're brushing it out! It's straight-ish, it's wavy... it doesn't know what it wants! :lol:

Finally! Something to explain my weird frizz. I had a redhead friend in highschool who had 3c/C/iii hair and she laughed at me when I said my hair was too frizzy.

I decided I'm somewhere around 1c/2a mostly because unless I really weigh down my waves with product, my hair doesn't really look straight. It doesn't even look straight with body waves. My S-waves are faint usually, but they're there. Am I correct in assuming that the difference between body and s-waves is the distance between each wave? 1b would have a greater distance between individual body waves than 1c for example, and I notice as the 2 types go from a, b, and c the only difference is that the length between the waves is shorter and they become closer together.

[vampyyri]

Finally! Something to explain my weird frizz. I had a redhead friend in highschool who had 3c/C/iii hair and she laughed at me when I said my hair was too frizzy.

I decided I'm somewhere around 1c/2a mostly because unless I really weigh down my waves with product, my hair doesn't really look straight. It doesn't even look straight with body waves. My S-waves are faint usually, but they're there. Am I correct in assuming that the difference between body and s-waves is the distance between each wave? 1b would have a greater distance between individual body waves than 1c for example, and I notice as the 2 types go from a, b, and c the only difference is that the length between the waves is shorter and they become closer together.

Absolutely, 1c is a body wave that has a tendency to be straight, and 2a is a more drawn-out/loose wave! Woo, welcome to the club!!

[Decoy24601]

Ah, so much more about my hair's behavior makes sense now.

What products can I use to bring out my waves? I used to want stick-straight hair, but I've been wanting to embrace what waves my hair does have lately. I found a conditioner that my hair loves, but it really weighs down my waves, which are already weighed down by the length of my hair. If I use cones at all, I prefer to use lighter cones like amodimethicone. Regular dimethicone heavy conditioners make my hair feel very coated. I might try a DIY flax-seed gel curl cream or something and scrunch it into my hair while it's wet to counter-act the conditioner.

[vampyyri]

Ah, so much more about my hair's behavior makes sense now.

What products can I use to bring out my waves? I used to want stick-straight hair, but I've been wanting to embrace what waves my hair does have lately. I found a conditioner that my hair loves, but it really weighs down my waves, which are already weighed down by the length of my hair. If I use cones at all, I prefer to use lighter cones like amodimethicone. Regular dimethicone heavy conditioners make my hair feel very coated. I might try a DIY flax-seed gel curl cream or something and scrunch it into my hair while it's wet to counter-act the conditioner.

I personally follow the curly girl method which is basically:

Sulfate free shampoo (I clarify as needed, I'm a grease ball)
Silicone free/low silicone conditioner, detangle only at this stage
Squish to condish, leaving in some conditioner instead of rinsing completely out
...and do not brush it post-shower!

You can follow it up with the LOC method as well, but it's trial and error to find the perfect combination of products that work!

That's basically what brings my waves out personally. Experiment with different methods on here, there's loads!

[Decoy24601]

I personally follow the curly girl method which is basically:

Sulfate free shampoo (I clarify as needed, I'm a grease ball)
Silicone free/low silicone conditioner, detangle only at this stage
Squish to condish, leaving in some conditioner instead of rinsing completely out
...and do not brush it post-shower!

You can follow it up with the LOC method as well, but it's trial and error to find the perfect combination of products that work!

That's basically what brings my waves out personally. Experiment with different methods on here, there's loads!

Huh, interesting. I haven't been brushing at least. I've been using a wide-tooth horn comb and a fine-tooth horn comb. I have noticed that the fine-tooth one does comb out my waves a bit.

I'm actually about to order some regular saponified shampoo bars and clarifying as needed. I've been finding that SLS shampoos strip my hair so much that I have to over-condition and coat my hair in oils to compensate for it, which makes me need to shampoo my hair more often. I wonder if I could get away with using less product by switching to an SLS-free shampoo. Now that I think about it, the one time I did try squish to condish, my hair was a lot wavier.

I also figured out that my hair has low porosity, which explains why I've been piling on moisturizing products with little effect. I put sodium bicarbonate in my SMT today and rinsed it out with water and then an ACV rinse and my hair feels much more moisturized than it normally does and I didn't even have to use my LOC. I've also been putting in my LOC when my hair is mostly dry, which might be part of what's weighing down my waves (it's mostly avocado butter).

Thank you for all of your help/advice ;).

[vpatt]

I used to say that I had straight hair that was not really straight. Now I realize that I can encourage wave. It looks better the first day I wash it, but by the next day it just looks ratty and messy and I HAVE to use the tangle teaser. Well then it looks like a whole different type of wave BUT the ends have a frizzy look. So for now when I have to brush it I then spritz it with water and scrunch it a bit and it takes away the frizz. It is not a lot of frizz like curly hair, but just enough to make it look split and dried after brushing. Wave wannabes.

Oh the avatar is right after using the TT.

[lithostoic]

This look 1c to you guys? So frustrating trying to find my type, my hair never looks the same on any given day. I've gone back and forth between 1b, 1b/1c, and 1c so many times.

https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/fr/cp0/e15/q65/13603420_1359876894029059_5060622532683416280_o.jp g?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9

[lapushka]

Yes that looks 1c to me. Very much the typical 1c here, a nice flowy body wave. Very pretty!

[PixieP]

After my chop today, and a clarifying wash, my hair feels so wonderful! I'm excited to see if my waves get even more defined after getting rid of those stringy ends; they never got any wave. Today I washed my hair late in the evening so I had to blowdry it though, so difficult to say today. I'm so hoping I'll eventually be a solid 2a XD

[lapushka]

After my chop today, and a clarifying wash, my hair feels so wonderful! I'm excited to see if my waves get even more defined after getting rid of those stringy ends; they never got any wave. Today I washed my hair late in the evening so I had to blowdry it though, so difficult to say today. I'm so hoping I'll eventually be a solid 2a XD

Did you do a hairtyping pic yet? Maybe time to do one again? Just S/C and pat dry, let dry without touching it. Your texture normally can't change (even though it can sag with length) but you never know.

[PixieP]

Well I've gone from a 1a/1b to 1c/2a in four months, so who knows XD my hair has never been this wavy before in my life!

I'm gonna take a new typing pic next time I have time to air dry my hair :)