Wavy hair when damp, straight when dry...

[Chiara]

Hi there,

Recently I've been noticing that my hair is actually quite wavy when it's damp from being washed. I comb the tangles out, and it then dries pretty straight (apart from a few kinks). My hair is pretty fine.

I'd really like to try and encourage that waviness sometimes. Do any of you lovely people have some tips for how to do that? I have always thought of myself as having straight hair, but I think the texture might be changing as I get older, so I want to experiment with a new hair identity :)

Thanks!

[princessp]

I think you are combing your waves out. I only brush my hair before I wash it. I sometimes comb it when it is dry, but I never comb or brush when it is wet.

[Peter]

When it's still damp, comb out the tangles then braid it. That will give you braid waves though, not natural waves.

You could also comb before you wash your hair and try not to tangle it too much (then don't comb after to get your natural texture). For me, this method doesn't really work because my waves will tangle no matter what. If I want waves then I just braid it, but most of the time I wear it straight-ish.

[HairColoredHair]

Comb your hair in the shower, then 'plop' your hair (try searching the forum for suggestions on plopping, I'm a straightie and can't help you there. Don't touch your hair while it's drying! It'll straighten it out.

[kitten1986]

my hair is like that too!
it is in well defined ringlets when it is wet, but if I comb it, it dries pretty much straight with afew kinks

If I let it dry without touching it, it ends up looking quite boofy and loses its pretty curliness

I always thought that it was because of damage :confused:

[Chiara]

OK, will try plopping at my next wash. Now that I've developed a wash technique that causes a lot less tangling, I think I could just about go without combing until its dry...we'll see!

[vanessa_2010]

Same here!
If I don´t touch my hair after I wash it I´ll get waves, and sometimes even some curls. But if I comb it it will come out straight.
I didn´t know about plopping, I might try that too :)

[Gabriel]

Echoing everyone else's advice. :) I'd also look at Naturally Curly, CurlTalk Forums (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/), specifically in the 2's section for some more advice.

I've tried the Curly Girl method and had success with it and have some pictures in my albums somewhere.

Curl cream and gel have really helped me define and hold ringlets and waves in my hair. I've tried flax seed and aloe gel but they didn't work so well for me personally.

Plopping worked okay however it caused more tangles and flat places for me. There's a modified plopping technique you can search for on the NC forums that might help. I like that way of plopping much better. "Scrunching" doesn't work well for me either but "paddling" does.

Diffussing also helps me hold onto my waves if I'm careful and patient.

The thing that takes getting used to for me as a straight-ey my whole life is the feel of product in my hair if I want to wear it wavy/curly.

I forgot! There's a couple of threads here for wavies that might be helpful to you as well.

The Wavy and Wurly Thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=31563)

1c/2a Hair Thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=54163)

[Chiara]

Thanks so much Gabriel, what great info!

This morning after my wash, I finger combed, ran out of time to 'plop' but did not otherwise touch my hair, and I now do, indeed, have waves. I can't believe it! They are quite 'big' waves now my hair is fully dry, they were tighter when it was still damp (which I really liked). So I think you're right, and I might need to experiment with some kind of product to try and retain the tighter wave.

What's nice is that I used to get strange frizz happening, which I think was just the waves trying to express themselves after being combed out. I think the waves have popped out because I'm not using cones at all anymore.

[TinaDenali]

Thanks so much Gabriel, what great info!

This morning after my wash, I finger combed, ran out of time to 'plop' but did not otherwise touch my hair, and I now do, indeed, have waves. I can't believe it! They are quite 'big' waves now my hair is fully dry, they were tighter when it was still damp (which I really liked). So I think you're right, and I might need to experiment with some kind of product to try and retain the tighter wave.

What's nice is that I used to get strange frizz happening, which I think was just the waves trying to express themselves after being combed out. I think the waves have popped out because I'm not using cones at all anymore.

Could you try not even finger combing it? I don't touch my hair after I shower until it's fully dry. Your curls/waves might be more pronounced if you don't even finger comb.

[phistash]

My hair is just like this, and I finally figured out how to keep the waves and stretch washes at the same time. I CWC and after washing, I squeeze out the excess water by hand, then wrap my hair up in a towel, turban style. I leave it up for a few minutes, long enough to get my hair damp instead of wet. I take it down, flip my head once or twice, then just twist the entire length up and coil it on top of my head. I fasten it with a Ficcare, but any large clip will do.

I leave my hair up like this all day and all night. I wear a silk sleeping cap at night, which keeps the waves intact, and sometimes I even leave the Ficcare in, as I can hardly feel it. The next day, I have perfect waves, and my hair is still quite clean because it was up all day, and hasn't been touched (no oils, wind, or pollutants).

I can't believe it took me this long to figure this out, but my hair is very persnickety.

Tips: don't brush, or comb, or finger-comb your hair at all, unless it is absolutely necessary. On the days that I wear it down, I only do so inside. On my commute, I loosely tie it up so that the wind doesn't mess it up, and so that it doesn't get caught in my bag straps. I take it down when I get to school or work or wherever. I find that I rarely need to comb at all.

[Juneii]

My hair does this too, looks all nice and wavy when it is wet, but I let it air dry with no combing of any sort. And somehow it manages to detangle itself and become stick straight.

[AreWild]

Your hair sounds a lot like mine. I never had the patience to find a way to hold on to my natural waves, but I did figure out that my hair type seems to pick up bun and braid waves readily. Maybe yours does too? I particularly like the giant sausage spirals I can get from damp bunning into a cinnamon bun.

[mira-chan]

Your hair sounds a lot like mine. I never had the patience to find a way to hold on to my natural waves, but I did figure out that my hair type seems to pick up bun and braid waves readily. Maybe yours does too? I particularly like the giant sausage spirals I can get from damp bunning into a cinnamon bun.
Same type of hair here too. The strands don't align together well unless given a direction (bun). Each goes it's own way creating a fluffy appearance, even without combing. The hairs don't form strings as needed for curls to form nicely.

Aligning them with buns or braids is the easiest way to work with this.

[redneckprincess]

i dont towell dry my hair, just squeeze the water out of the length. and only comb through minimally with a wide tooth comb, and let air dry without touching